


Bad Dog!

by CRMGrimmi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Clara's life, Death, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hogwarts, Mod Grimmi, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-21 19:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2479187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CRMGrimmi/pseuds/CRMGrimmi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara is a loyal Slytherin, who in the opinion of others, should be in Gryffindor. She couldn't care less what they say. She really hates people who diss the Slytherins, ESPECIALLY the Marauders. But that all changes when she gets to know Sirius Black better.<br/>This is Clara's life if she was part of the Harry Potter series.<br/>-Mod Grimmi</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction to a weirdo

Clara walked out of Hogwarts, walking towards the lake. She noticed a group of students standing in a circle. But that wasn’t what shocked her. James Potter was suspending Severus Snape upside down. Clara's anger rose, and she walked briskly towards the group. She saw Lily Evans walking away, seeming both angry and upset. Clara ignored Lily, her sight set on her target: James.

“Potter! You put Severus down, now!” Clara yelled at the messy haired boy, who simply sneered at her.

“What do you want, Rambo?” James replied nastily. “Come here to say Snivellus have you? How touching. I thought all Slytherins were cowards.” Clara’s face reddened in anger. How dare he?

“Oh, shut up! Just because you’re a cocky, self-centred git doesn’t mean we all have to be!” She yelled at him, the latter seeming a little taken back, but he quickly smirked in response. 

“Cocky am I? Then what about him?” James asked, moving his wand a little, showing that he was talking about Snape. “Isn’t he a little arrogant?” Clara growled at James, walking towards him threateningly. 

“Watch it, Potty.” She said darkly. “We wouldn’t anyone to get seriously hurt would we now?” she took out her wand, pointing it at Potter’s face. Sirius Black pointed his wand to Clara, Pettigrew looking a little frightened, and even Remus Lupin was eyeing the fight. “I would put Severus down if I were you.” Clara whispered dangerously. James gulped, but frowned, smirking viciously. 

“You can’t do anything, Rambo. I’ve got my pals here to back me up, and there’s a whole audience here who would be more than pleased to get you expelled. You know no one likes you.” He answered. Clara’s anger over took her, and slapped James so hard that he was thrown to ground, his wand flying out his hand. Severus dropped to the floor, standing up, staggering a little. Sirius snarled at Clara, who kicked him in the shin, making him yelp. Pettigrew scurried to Remus, who had stood up.

“Clara de Rambures! You shall not use violence against other students! Fifty points from Slytherin!” he scorned, but Clara only laughed mockingly.

“What? Aren’t you supposed to be a prefect?! I thought a prefect’s job was to make sure all the pupils treated each other equally! But no! There’s a certain filthy half-breed who thinks it’s alright to let his pals bully another pupil, you dirty monster!” Clara yelled at Remus angrily. She knew about Remus being a werewolf, and she knew that Sirius, James and Pettigrew were animagi. Remus took a step backwards, seeming horrified. Clara snarled at him, kicked Sirius again for good measure, and stepped on James as she walked to Severus, who was collecting his things. “Come on Severus, let’s go.” She said quietly so that only he could hear her. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him back towards the school. When they were in the safety of the Slytherin common room, she let go of Severus’ wrist.

“You didn’t have to come to my help.” He muttered. Clara rolled her eyes, and smiled to him. 

“Come on, Severus, don’t be like that. We’re friends, and I want to help you whenever you need it. You’ve helped me so many times when revising the exams, so I want to help you too.” She said kindly. Snape nodded stiffly, and muttered ‘thanks’, then left to go to his dormitory. Clara sighed heavily, and sat down on a sofa in the common room, taking out her revision notes for her Transfiguration exam. After a while she fell asleep.

 

“de R…Ram…bu…res, Clara.” McGonagall called out, struggling on the surname. All the students laughed, and a rather tall, long light brown haired girl sat on the stool, her hazel eyes showing her clear embarrassment. Professor McGonagall apologized, and put the sorting had on the girl’s head.

‘Hm…’ the hat said thoughtfully. Clara was wondering in which house she would be put. Her mother had been in Gryffindor, while her father in Ravenclaw. Clara’s grandparents had been put in Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw as well, but in all honesty, Clara really wanted to be in Slytherin. 

Clara was a pure blood, but it’s not like she showed off about it. She didn’t find it important. However, she was related to Lucius Malfoy by blood, some way or the other, and really looked up to him. She found him awesome in every way, and got along really well with him. ‘Let’s see…daughter of Milona and Charlie…yes I remember those two…You have a good mix in your blood…apart from Slytherin…let’s see…what about…Gryffindor?’ the hat said thoughtfully. Clara frowned, which she knew was visible to the others, and shook her head.

‘No, I don’t want to be in Gryffindor. Or the others...I want to be put in Slytherin.’ She thought, hoping the hat would take this into consideration. The hat laughed.

‘What? But you are nothing like what a Slytherin is. Quite the opposite actually. You are brave, forward, patient, and kind, smart when you feel like it, even though you do sometimes let your anger lead you into things.’ Clara snorted. Patient? Not likely. Hot blooded? Totally. 

‘So? I want to be put in Slytherin. Lucius was in Slytherin, and the whole Black family too, except for Sirius.’

‘Yes, but the Weasleys have always been in Gryffindor, and you are also related to them. Please may I remind you that Arthur and Molly are close family members to you.’

This little argument had gone on for a good ten minutes, making all the students a little shocked. Clara’s mum had been one of the gentlest, most loveable person Gryffindor ever had, while her Dad had been very short-tempered, but a great friend, with enough brains to pass every N.E.W.T with an ‘O’. Charles-Henry de Rambures was French, but lived in England, while Milona was German, but also lived in England. But anyway, everybody had expected Clara to be put in Gryffindor the second the hat saw her, so this was quite a shock to everyone. 

Finally, after another five minutes, the hat seemed to have made its decision. “SLYTHERIN!” 

Silence hit the students and teachers. Slytherin? Really? The Gryffindors seemed to be the most taken back, while the Slytherins bellowed their cheers and applauds as Clara sat in between two Slytherin students.

“Quiet, please!” McGonagall called. “Snape, Severus.”

 

“Clara, hey, Clara, wake up.” A voice woke Clara from her dream, which had been of her sorting into Slytherin. She looked up and saw Snape.

“Wut…?” she yawned, stretching a little.

“We’ve got out Transfiguration exam now. Hurry up if you don’t want to be late.” Snape answered, his bag hanging from his shoulder. Clara jolted and looked at the time. 

“Oh, dammit!” she quickly put all her stuff in a bag, and hurried after Snape. “Thanks for waking me up.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Snape said dryly. Clara smiled. She knew that Snape was a good person, but that he didn’t really like to show it. She wasn’t too sure why, but there you have it.

“Hey, Clara, Snape!” called a hyper voice. Clara looked back, being met by her friend, Beatrice. The latter was a shoulder length ginger haired, pale faced girl, who wore purple rimmed glasses and was shorter than Clara. She ran to them, puffing a little. “Hey, have you seen James and the others?” she asked. Clara frowned.

“No, nor do I care.” Clara hissed. Beatrice raised an eyebrow, then sighed. 

“Lemme guess, you’ve had a fight with them.” Beatrice stated. Clara shrugged, and said goodbye to Beatrice, because she had to get to her exam. 

When they arrived, Snape was to sit at the front row, and Clara on the third row. She wished good luck to Snape, even though she knew he didn’t really need it, since he was smart and did do well in exams, and sat down at her place. A second later, James, Sirius, Remus and Pettigrew entered. She ignored them, but couldn’t help smirking when she noticed James’ bruised cheek. It had only been a slap, but Clara knew she slapped him pretty hard. But she growled when Sirius sat next to her, and he snarled back.

“Aw, what’s wrong? Limping are we?” She mocked. He glare at her, and Clara just chuckled, turning to her exam paper.

“All right, you may start.” Said the teacher. Clara started.

Transfiguration wasn’t her best subject, but with Snape’s help, she found it fairly manageable. Next to her, Sirius was writing away. She huffed, and finished writing, checking over her answers, making sure she had made as little mistakes as possible. With a satisfied smile she put her quill down, and waited.

She was hoping to get at least an ‘E’ in all her O.W.Ls. Her father had gotten ‘O’s in all of them, including his N.E.W.Ts, and her mother had gotten a mix of ‘E’s and ‘O’s, even though she just barely passed them; her N.E.W.T. grades were much better than her O.W.Ls. Clara wanted to either become a healer like her father, or an Auror like her mother. Clara’s favourite subjects were Potions, care of magical creatures and Defence against the dark arts. She enjoyed Muggle Studies, and hated Divination. She didn’t mind Transfiguration and was one of the top of her class in charms. Herbology was more of an extra activity to Clara, but she enjoyed it. 

Clara was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a bit of annoyed groaning from Sirius. She looked at him curiously, and saw that he was actually struggling at one of the questions which was worth eight marks. He looked at Clara, almost pleadingly. Clara looked away, smirking. For once, Sirius was struggling. But still, she couldn’t help feeling guilty for not helping him. She was always like this. If she didn’t help someone, anyone, she felt really guilty and needed to help them. She sighed in annoyance, and pushed her parchment to Sirius, showing him the answer to the question. The black haired boy seemed surprised, but also had a glint of gratefulness in his eyes, and quickly copied down Clara’s answer. The girl sighed irritably, and pulled back her paper when Sirius had finished.

“Stop writing.” Said the teacher after five minutes. “Accio parchments!” All the parchments went flying to the teacher, who collected them all and dismissed the class. Clara joined Snape.

“What did you think about it?” she asked eagerly; she thought she had done pretty well. Snape looked sourly at James and his friends, who seemed to be sniggering at him. “Oi, Severus, stop thinking about them.”

 

“Hm…yeah. I thought the exam was fairly challenging, but manageable all the same.” He said indifferently. Clara nodded, and started chatting to Snape; well technically she was doing the talking and Snape the listening. She was stopped when Beatrice called out to her again.

“Hey Beatrice, what’s up?” she asked the ginger, who beamed at her.

“How did the exam go? I thought it was pretty easy.” She said enthusiastically.

“It was manageable.” Clara answered. “But you know what? Black was struggling on that eight mark question.” She said eagerly. Beatrice’s mouth flung open, and Snape looked as though he had just received a prize. “I know right?” Clara giggled, then sighed. “But he looked so pitiful, and you know how I get when I don’t help someone who needs it…” she mumbled. Beatrice rolled her eyes, grinning, and Snape looked at her indignantly. 

“Really, you should try to control that.” He commented truthfully. 

“I know, I know, no need to tell me.” Clara sighed. They went to lunch, but Beatrice went off to her own table, waving goodbye to them. Beatrice was a Ravenclaw, but she had had a good three minutes of arguing with the sorting hat, for she wanted to be in Gryffindor, but gave in when the hat ignored her arguing.

Snape and Clara sat down at their table and started piling food onto their plates; Clara was at least, she liked her food. Snape actually had an acceptable amount of food on his plate. Clara ate hungrily, not noticing the presence of a certain Gryffindor. 

“Oi, Rambo.” Clara felt a pang of annoyance in her stomach and turned round to look at Sirius.

“What?” she asked impatiently, but soon looked surprised when she saw Sirius smile. 

“I just wanted to say thanks. You really saved me in that exam. Guess I should’ve revised a little more after all.” He grinned, seeming genuinely grateful. Clara raised an eyebrow, eyeing Sirius suspiciously.

“T’was nothing. I felt bad seeing you looking so pitiful, nothing more.” She shrugged. Sirius, grinning still, chuckled, and returned to his table, where James was ruffling his hair again, trying to catch Lily’s attention, who ignored him.

Clara turned back to her food, and realised that all the Slytherins’ eyes were on her. “What? Got a problem?” she asked threateningly. The students quickly returned to their food. Snape hadn’t looked at either Clara or Sirius during this whole thing, and seemed indifferent about it. Except when he brought up the subject.

“Don’t trust him.” Snape said flatly. Clara jumped when Snape spoke and looked at him, surprised.

“I don’t, but why are you worried anyway?” She asked, serving herself a generous amount of chocolate ice cream.

“Because, not only is he a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors and Slytherins have never been on good terms, but also, he’s friends with Potter, and any friend of that person is not to be trusted.” He said dryly. Clara nodded, digging into her pudding. She shoved the thought of Sirius and the others to the back of her mind, but something she couldn’t identify nagged her.


	2. Panther in the night

“Can’t sleep…” Clara muttered annoyingly. She rolled over to her right side, then to her left side, back to her right side, flopped down on her stomach, then fell out of bed. “Gah!” she cried out, muffle by her bed curtains. She stood up, seriously annoyed and completely awake. 

‘Argh, damn sleeping, I’m going for a walk.’ She thought desperately. She put her robes on quickly and quietly, and tip-toed out of her dorm, into the living room and into the corridor. There, she quickly rushed to the entrance hall, and slipped out of the main school. 

When she was outside, she was met with the cold night air, a black sky, dotted with little bright spots. She sighed happily and ran towards the Forbidden Forest. She slowed down, and walked behind a tree. When she walked out from the other side, she wasn’t human-looking anymore. She had changed into a black panther. Clara prided herself in being an animagus; it was one of the small numbers of things she liked about herself. She had hazel eyes and pitch black fur, making her look almost like a real panther, the only difference being the small electric blue stripes on her legs. 

She wondered around the Forbidden forest, meeting a couple of the magical creatures living there. She got along well with the centaurs, even though she didn’t meet them much. She went into the direction of the large tree which had been planted the year she had arrived. It really wasn’t of any use, in her eyes, and found more of an eyesore than anything else. As she walked in that sort of direction, she stopped dead in her tracks, hearing some noises from afar. She lay flat on the ground, her ears pricked for any sound. 

Footsteps. Four legs. Four beings. Two canines. One vermin. One deer. 

‘Just them.’ Clara thought uncaringly. She looked up at the sky, and saw the full moon shining brightly. She swayed her tail, and went in the opposite direction from where the other animagi were coming from. ‘Just because they’ve turned into animals, it doesn’t make them any better beings.’ She thought again, thinking of the large black dog, the deer, the small rat and the wolf, also known as Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. She smelled the air, making sure they were far away from her. Instead she smelled them speeding towards her quickly. ‘What? They couldn’t have noticed me!’ she quickly sped into the nearby trees of the Forbidden forest again, and quickly made her way through the shrubs and tracks, slowing down only when she felt they were far enough. She looked around, checking if anyone was around.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the very wolf she had been running away from pounced out of some nearby shrubs. ‘How can I have not noticed him?!’ she exclaimed to herself, jumping out of Remus’ reach. She wasn’t too keen on getting a werewolf bite any time soon, thanks, so better keep one’s distances with them. Her hazel eyes glared at the snarling wolf, and she prepared to jump out of his way. But she was knocked off her paws when a deer smashed straight into her, head down. She landed on her back from the surprise of it. ‘What’s happening with me today?!’ she thought angrily. She wasn’t normally this distracted, nor had she ever met the marauders in her panther form before. She was about to get up and make a run for it, but was held down by two black-furred paws over her. 

The large black dog was growling and snarling at her, and she did the same back. ‘Damn you Sirius! Get off me you damn mutt!’ she thought anxiously. If she was found out she was an animagus by these guys, she just knew her life would become unbearable. Just as she was going to claw at Sirius dog face, an indescribable pain registered on her tail. Small sharp teeth had sunk into it.

Clara roared in anger, and whipped Peter off, making him hit the ground and run behind James’ front hooves. Sirius was distracted by this, and looked at Peter, to make sure he was OK, and Clara took this advantage to leave a nice claw mark on Sirius left cheek. Sirius jumped and yelped in pain, giving the time for Clara to run away, but leaving his own claw mark behind her right ear. Clara sprinted back to the school at full speed, thanking that she was a black panther, so that she was covered by the dark and was unseen by the other confused animagi.

She quickly rushed to the dungeons, transforming into her human shape before entering the common room. She quickly tip toed to her room, and changed into her night clothes again as quietly as she could, slipping into bed. Yeah, she was definitely tired now.

xMorningx

“What happened to you? You look as if you didn’t sleep at all!” Severus said, looking highly surprised at the gloomy looking brunette when they met in the common room to have breakfast.

“Oh, thanks for pointing out the obvious. I hardly slept.” Clara yawned loudly, following Severus sleepily. Severus had to pull Clara out the way of several other students and statues to avoid her colliding into them, also having to pull Clara round the corners so that she actually went in the right direction to the Grand Hall.

“Hi guys! Oh…Clara, you Ok?” Beatrice asked who was just coming out from breakfast.

“As a matter of fact, no, I feel like shit.” Clara snapped. 

“Ooh, attitude.” Beatrice teased. Clara did nothing more than stick out her tongue at her, and Severus rolled his eyes.

“How mature.” He muttered, pulling Clara into the Grand Hall. The brunette flopped into a seat next to the black head, and munched lazily at her cereals. Owls came swooping in and out of the Grand Hall. Suddenly, two packages splashed into Clara’s bowl. Clara’s face was covered in her cereal’s milk, and she wiped her face on her robes.

“Brownie, if I wasn’t so tired, I would defeather you in a matter of seconds.” Clara threatened her brown barn owl, who looked highly scared and also offended that he had not been congratulated in bringing the parcels to her mistress. “Yes, yes, good bird. Sorry, I’m just really tired. Here.” Clara passed Brownie a small plate of bacon and sausages, and a glass of pumpkin juice. The owl hoed in gratitude, ate his meal, received a couple of nice strokes from Clara, gave his mistress’ hand a friendly rubbing of the head, and flew off. 

“I still don’t understand why you call it ‘Brownie’. What a lack of imagination.” Severus commented flatly.

“So mean! I told you countless of times that ‘Brownie’ is a type of chocolate cake in the muggle world, and that’s why I named him ‘Brownie’!” Clara said indignantly. Severus huffed.

“You and your obsession with food will never stop to amaze me.” He said in between sips of his pumpkin juice. Clara pouted, and turned her attention to her soaked parcels. 

“I wonder who could’ve sent me anything…it’s not any special occasion or anything…” Clara said curiously, opening her first parcel, which was about the size of a ring box. “Oh! It’s from Mum and Dad!” She read the letter to herself.

‘Congratulations on finishing you OWLs, sweetheart! We’ll definitely celebrate this once you get back! Here is a little present, we hope you like them. Why not invite your Severus or Beatrice for a small part of the holidays?  
Lots of love,  
Mum and Dad.’

“Mum and Dad ask if you’d like to come over for the holidays.” Clara told Severus. “Yeah, why don’t you? I’m sure we’ll be able to go into the forest or something.” Severus looked at her.

“I’ll consider it.” He said dryly.

“Man…so cold. Well anyway, they gave me earrings! Look! They’re small black and blue stones in the shape of panther heads!” Clara showed Severus said objects, which were completely black, except for the two blue stones that represent the eyes and nose. Severus didn’t even look vaguely interested. “Tsch, whatever…” she put the earrings on, and opened her second parcel. There was also a letter in it.

‘Dear Clara,  
I want to congratulate you on finishing your OWLs. I’m confident that you will reach the families expectancies. This is just a small gift which I thought would suit you well. I’ll see you over the holidays, Narcissa, Bellatrix and I will visit you soon.  
Best wishes,  
Lucius.’

Clara grinned happily. This was definitely Lucius’ handwriting, and she was happy he actually remembered that she had finished her OWLs. She opened the box and in it she found a locket. It was a silver white sort of colour in the shape of a droplet of water, and had the initials ‘C.d.R’ on it, written in green. There were no pictures in the locket, so Clara had the choice to put whatever picture she wanted in it. Clara grinned and put the locket on. This time, however, Severus looked at the locket, his face hinting his interest.

“It’s in the Slytherin colours, and seems to be made of pure silver. It is very elegant.” Severus said, giving a small nod. Clara grinned widely.

“Aw, thanks Severus! I think so too. I’m so glad Lucius gave it to me.” Clara said happily, all hint of sleepiness vanishing in an instance.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Severus said bluntly, making Clara blush a bright red.

“Well…eh, yes. But he’s going to marry Narcissa Black.” Clara replied quietly, obviously embarrassed. 

“Sirius Black’s cousin?” Severus asked, interested in the topic for once. Clara nodded.

“Yeah, mum and dad would have liked me to marry Lucius or Arthur, but Arthur married Molly, and they already have a kid, I think…” Clara said thoughtfully. “I’d quite like our family to stare pureblood, since we are one of the last pureblood families, but there aren’t many purebloods around anymore…”

“You sound like a business woman. All in due time anyway, we’ve still got two years at Hogwarts, so you’ll have time to find someone. Who knows, you could marry Black’s younger brother.” Severus said flatly.

“Ahahaha, no thanks. I don’t really want to marry anybody related to that son of a…uhum, anyway…I don’t really mind honestly, I just want to have kids…” Clara said, still blushing a little.

“Uhuh…hey, what happened to your neck?” Severus pointed behind Clara’s right ear.

“What do you mean? Ouch!” Clara had reached to touch her neck, and remembered that that was the place where Sirius had scratched her earlier on. “Ow…I have no idea…” she lied. Severus obviously looked unconvinced, but didn’t push the matter on.

“You should go get that treated.” He said plainly, finishing his breakfast and standing up. “Come on, we’ve still have lessons, so we shouldn’t slack off even though we’ve finished our OWLs.” 

“Ah! Wait!” Clara stuffed the letters into her robes’ pocket, and quickly scrambled after Severus. On the way back to the Slytherin common room, Clara, who had been doing her best to avoid him, was stopped by Professor Slughorn, who was also looking for Severus.

“Oh, hello there Clara, Severus! Can I please talk to you for a second?” he asked joyfully. Severus nodded stiffly, while Clara forced a smile, nodding as well. “I am organising a small party for my favourite students, and I would like both of you to attend it. Lily Evans will be attending as well, I’m sure you know her.” 

Severus looked as if he had never known her, but Clara knew the truth, and she nodded. “Good, Beatrice will also join us, as well as a few others. Tomorrow, at six o’clock, alright? Oh, and Clara, could I talk to you for another second? If that’s alright with you Severus…” Severus nodded, and left, Clara feeling she’d rather fight a dragon than talk to Slughorn on her own. “I was wondering, are you thinking of becoming an Auror?” Clara nodded.

“Or a healer.” She added.

“Of course, of course, your parents were amazing students, and very successful in their careers, but that is to be expected from the Rambures family, of course.” He started. Clara had a crooked smile on her face.

‘What’s with people and saying that? I mean, sure, we’re wealthy and stuff, but we’re completely normal, if not, just a little smarter than the average person, but then again, so is Beatrice’s family, so I don’t see what the big deal is. Apart from the fact that my family has always been high up in the Ministry of Magic, I don’t understand why Slughorn’s making such a big fuss about it…’ Clara thought irritably in her mind.

“But anyway, if you want, I can make appointments with some very important people, it could be good to start off your career, you know, the more famous people you know, the more you’ll achieve.” He gave a loud laugh, and Clara forced a chuckle. “If you are interested, please tell me. Well, I’ll be seeing you in Potions!” he walked off, his bulging stomach wobbling as he left. Clara let out a loud sigh of relief. 

“Enjoying the attention are we, Rambo?” said a teasing voice. Clara turned to face James, accompanied by his usual escort of Sirius, Lupin and Peter. 

“You know what? Shove off.” Clara replied coldly. James laughed, and approached her.

“You and your famous family. Wonder why anybody bothers. You must think you’re so high and mighty, don’t you?” James said bluntly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, do I look like you? Or are you talking to yourself? You know, talking to yourself is one of the first signs of madness, but then again, you’re as batty as they come.” Clara pointed out flatly. James growled, and was about to answer, when Sirius gasped.

“Rambo, what happened to your neck?” he said darkly, obviously furious. Lupin looked terrified, and Peter was goggling at the wound on her neck, while James growled. 

“None of your business! My cat scratched me this morning, OK?!” Clara replied fiercely using her right hand to cover the wound, which she knew was just making her look more suspicious.

“Oh really?” Sirius said, obviously not convinced. “Those claw marks look too big for a cat, don’t you think?” He stepped in front of her before she could make a run for it, and pushed her against a wall. 

“Yeah? Well, what about yourself?! Don’t tell me your owl decided to attack you this morning!” Clara said heatedly, pointing to the scratch on Sirius’ face, which had been treated, which she knew she had caused herself.

“Why don’t you tell me? What were you doing last night? Prowling about, trying to find out what we do? Don’t lie, you are obviously that panther from last night.” Sirius whispered darkly, so not to be heard. Clara was about to answer, when she realised just how close Sirius was to her. He had both hands on her shoulder and their faces where barely two inches apart. Her face flushed up into a scarlet colour.

“T-TOO CLOSE IDIOT!!!” she yelled, head butting Sirius. He staggered backwards, but again, before she could get away, James had caught hold of her right arm, and Lupin of her left arm. “Get off of me, you wannabe wizards!” she struggled, but even for Clara, four vs one was too much. “OK, OK, so yeah I’m an animagus, big deal, and yeah, I’ve been following you guys ever since I became one, but no, I was going to tell on you, because I know the headmaster knows Lupin is a werewolf, so it wouldn’t bring me anything anyway, and if I told the teacher you guys were animagi, then they’d realise I’m also an animagus, and I’d get told off too, so NOW WILL YOU PLEASE LET ME GO ALREADY!” Clara said all of this without breathing and a top speed so that Remus and James had to let go of her, for they had no reason to keep her captive. “What I want to know, is why you attacked me in the first place.” She said coldly, rubbing her arms.

“Have you ever seen a panther with electric blue stripes?” Sirius growled, rubbing his forehead. “And dude, you got a hard head.” Clara blushed.

“Oh, shut up pervert!” she marched off, leaving a stuttering Sirius. 

‘Few, that was close…waaaaaaay to close for comfort…but I don’t think it matters if they know or not in the end…but I’m kinda worrying about this…’ Clara thought nervously as she entered her dorm.


	3. Problemo

The last day before everybody went home, Clara was stressing out. Packing had always been a big difficulty for her, and after twenty minutes of useless fighting and struggling to fit everything in her case, she gave up, and used magic to fold everything neatly and such. Clara was really looking forward to the holidays, for both Beatrice and Severus were going to spend the first week of the vacation at her house. Clara lived in the countryside of the Midlands, in a place where there was a large forest where she liked to go for walks and look at the animals. There were a lot of muggles in the area, but she enjoyed it. She had always been around muggles, and even though she never talked to them, she liked how everything they did was both fun and easy to use.

‘I don’t understand why we can’t have some things the muggles use in the wizard world. I mean, that coffee-machine thingy is amazing! And all the foods! As well as those little parks where there are loads of swingy things the children play on!’

While Clara kept on smiling happily at her muggle-loving thoughts, her cat, Marie, meowed from the bed. Marie was a black and white cat, which Clara had had since she was five, so she meant a lot to Clara. Marie rubbed her head against the bed’s covers, obviously asking for attention. Clara closed her case’s lid, and sat on her bed. At once, Marie jumped unto her lap, and settled down upon it as if Clara were some cosy pillow. The latter stroked her cat happily, the black and white creature purring loudly like a tractor. 

“Clara, what are you doing for the holidays?” asked one of Clara’s roommates. “I’m going to Switzerland, there’s a special wizard village in the mountains, with lots of chalets and stuff! Oh, it’s going to be wonderful~” she squealed happily at the thought.

“That’s nice! My grandparents live in Switzerland! I’ll be going home, Beatrice and Severus are coming over too, and Lucius, Bellatrix and Narcissa, so I won’t be lonely!” Clara said happily. Clara had on siblings, even though she would have liked to, but her mother couldn’t have any more children after she had been in an accident, so Clara remained only child. Not that she mind, Clara loved her parents to bits, and would do anything for them.

“That’s nice. Hey, you like Severus a lot, don’t you? Are you two going out or something?” the girl asked, faking sweet innocence. 

Clara’s cheeks burnt up with embarrassment. “No! We’re good friends and that’s all! I mean, Severus isn’t that type of guy who would want to go out with someone, and plus, I’m just interested in having a boyfriend at the moment.” Clara said quickly. The girl laughed, and continued talking about other stuff. 

“Oh, and don’t you think Sirius is so dreamy?” The girl said with faraway eyes. Clara, who had been trying to reach a book from under her bed, had grabbed it, and had jumped in shock, banging her head underneath the bed.

“Ow! What?!” she exclaimed. “But he’s a Gryffindor!” the girl giggled and sighed.

“I know, but he’s still so wonderful looking.” She said with a dreamy look. Clara cringed at the thought of the black haired boy who she hated so much. She got out from under the bed, and put her book into her case, and smacked the lid shut, causing the girl to jump in sudden surprise.

“Well, I think he’s a completely arrogant little jerk, if you ask me.” Clara huffed dryly, walking to the common room. The common room was fairly empty, except for Severus and Regulus Black, Sirius’ younger brother. “Hey guys, what you up to?” Clara sat on an armchair next to them.

“Nothing much, just going over our holiday details.” Regulus shrugged. “So Severus is going to your house?”

“Yup. Are you going home?” Clara asked. Regulus nodded. “Hm. What about Sirius?” Regulus’ face darkened.

“He’s staying at Potter’s.” he said darkly. 

“Typical.” Clara muttered, Severus nodding in agreement. “Anyways…can’t believe everybody’s going ‘Oh Potter’s so this’, and ‘Oh Sirius’ so that’. People are even going all dreamy for Lupin, and a couple even for Pettigrew. So ridiculous.” Clara said angrily, not seeing what was so great about that handful of twits.

“It’s a mystery on how they are completely irresponsible and still get fan girls following them everywhere they go.” Snape said flatly, but Clara could tell he’d jinx Potter if he could.

“Yeah…anyway, Lucius will be coming! I think he’ll propose to Narcissa, ‘bout time too.” Clara said happily, though she was a little upset. Severus and Regulus noticed this. “What?”

“Don’t be upset, he’s too old for you.” Regulus said flatly. Clara pouted childly.

“He’s not! My grandparent are ten years apart in age!” She answered indignantly. Regulus shrugged, and muttered something about ‘special cases’. Clara ignored this and looked to one of the windows, and only showed the inside of the lake, where she could just about see the far off shape of the Giant Squid. Clara stretched. “Well, anyway, I’m going to see what Beatrice is up to. See you later.” Clara walked out the Slytherin common room, walking towards Ravenclaw. She decided to make a detour by going outside, for it was a really nice day, and sunshine was fairly rare in England, she thought. As she walked outside, she saw Lily Evans, yelling at James Potter to leave her alone. Clara stopped and watched the little scene. 

Eventually, Evans marched away from Potter, towards where Clara was standing. “He’s annoying, isn’t he?” Clara said as she passed. Evans jumped, and looked at her, noticing her Slytherin badge.

“Well, yes he is, what’s it to you?” She asked suspiciously. Clara smiled sweetly, she had nothing against Lily, she actually thought she was a nice girl, even though she sat at the opposite end of the room from her in potions.

“Oh, nothing, it’s just I also find him annoying.” Clara said sympathetically. Evans seemed to relax a little.

“Oh, right. You’re Clara de R…Ramb…thingy. Sorry, I can’t say your last name.” Evans said, flushing a little from embarrassment. Clara chuckled.

“Don’t worry, not many can, just call me Clara.” 

“OK, I’m Lily Evans.”

“I know, I doubt there’s a single soul in Hogwarts who doesn’t know who you are, and I’m not flattering.” Clara said kindly. Lily Evans smiled at her.

“You’re really nice, I thought most Slytherins hated Gryffindors.” Lily said. Clara knew many thought this, also thinking all Slytherins were all dark wizards who hated everybody and where arrogant.

“An easy mistake.” Clara said simply, shrugging. “Hey, where are you going for the holidays?” Clara asked as they re-entered the school, walking through the corridors. 

“Home. I’m muggle born, so I go home to my parents and sister.” Lily explained. “But my sister is scared of me. I don’t think she likes me.” Lily said sadly. Clara noticed this, and smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll get over it.” Clara said pleasantly. “I’m going home, and Severus, I know you know him, and my Ravenclaw friend Beatrice, yeah, the ginger one, are coming to my house for a week, as well as some other family members.” Lily and Clara talked for a while, about this and that, generally cursing Potter and making up funny stories of what jinxes they could use on him. “Well, I’ll be seeing you round then.” Lily nodded, and said goodbye to Clara, who had seen Beatrice on the way to the Gryffindor tapestry, and walked back to the Slytherin dungeons.

‘Yay, I’ve made another friend!’ Clara congratulated herself.

Next day

Severus, Regulus, Clara and Beatrice where all on the Hogwarts express, the girls chatting and laughing, while eating chocolate frogs, Regulus was reading some book, and Severus was looking out the window. 

“Oi, losers. Oh, her Beatrice, what’re you doing here?” Sirius asked, surprised to see the bubbly ginger among the glaring Slytherins. 

“These ‘losers’ as you call them, happen to be my friends.” Beatrice retorted cheerfully.

“Ok then, Regulus, you can tell the parents I’ll be staying the whole vacation at James’.” Sirius ordered his brother, who just rolled his eyes and continued reading.

“Why don’t you just move there? You go to Potter’s 100% of the time, so why don’t you just get out the house?” Regulus asked flatly.

“Oh shudup. Rambo, I need to talk to you.” he said pointing to Clara. Said girl just glared at him. “Come on, just for a sec.” Clara sighed irritably.

“If it’ll make you go away.” She murmured, following Sirius to a more secluded section of the train, where there weren’t many students. “What?” she asked.

“Beatrice told me about your sorting.” Black said flatly, but he was obviously looking at her in high interested. “Why d’you want to be a Slytherin?” 

“Excuse me? Since when do you care?” Clara asked, infuriated that Beatrice had told him. “I wanted to go into Slytherin because a family who I look up to was in Slytherin. Oh, please, don’t start saying how I’m such an idiot and that I should’ve chose Gryffindor instead. Being in Gryffindor would mean spending more time with you four idiots.”

“Hurtful.” Sirius said dramatically. “But that’s not all. Why do you always defend Severus? You know he’s not the nicest person either.” Clara snorted.

“So? He’s still human, and still feels emotions. And anyway, friends stand up for each other. Severus and I just get along well, and I want to keep as many people as I can close to me. Also, Severus IS a nice person, you just don’t know him well enough, nor try to!” 

“Point taken, but what do you think of us? The marauders?” Sirius asked, a cocky smirk on his lips.

“I think you’re a handful of annoying twats who act like a bunch of spoilt brats and are the lowest lowlife of the whole Galaxy.” Clara said flatly. “And you have no kindness in you for others who don’t think you are almighty and amazing.”

“Well, look who’s a hypocrite. No, just listen.” Sirius said at Clara’s angry expression. “You say we shouldn’t judge your beloved Severus ‘cause we don’t know him well enough, but aren’t you doing the same to us? James and I heard Lily talk to some of her friends on how nice you are; and everybody knows that when Lily likes somebody that she’ll even say how nice they are, they are a really nice person. So, us marauders thought we would give you a chance, and try to see what Lily sees is so great about you.” He finished. Clara was absolutely gob smacked. 

“Say what? I don’t recall ever asking to become friends with you. In all honesty, I’d rather see what you guys think are so great about yourselves. And anyway, I have my own friends, thank you very much.” Clara said, trying to side step around Sirius.

“Come on, Clara, don’t be like that.” Sirius said, smiling at her. SMILING. Clara could help but think he had a very nice smile indeed. “I know we do act a bit stupid and that we do go overboard sometimes, but we’re not evil guys either. We just want to get to know you better.”

“More like, POTTER wants to get to know me better, so that he can become so called ‘friends’ with me, and get closer to Lily, right?” Clara said, completely crushing Sirius’ smile. “I’m not stupid enough to believe you would suddenly care for me. Good bye, jerk.” Clara finally side stepped around Sirius, and walked away. 

“Hey, wait! Clara!” Sirius said grabbing her wrist. Clara was walking rather fast, and the train suddenly shook a little too hard, and since Sirius was pulling her to stop her, she fell over…onto Sirius.

Clara didn’t hurt herself, her fall being cushioned by Sirius, but only looked at the boy underneath her in horror, while Sirius actually seemed quite please. Their lips were touching. 

‘FUCK! THIS ISN’T HAPPENIG!’ Clara screamed, and tried pull away, but Sirius was holding the back of her head, and Clara couldn’t move. She glared at Black underneath her, who was actually smirking. 

“Oooh, aren’t things getting heated up here?” came Potter’s voice from above them. Clara finally found the strength to punch Sirius in the stomach and pulled away, falling again unto her rear end. 

“You…you…” Clara stuttered at Sirius content expression. “What was that for, you pervy hairball?!” she yelled. Potter was grinning widely.

“I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted to get to know you better, y’know.” Sirius said proudly. It sounded like he had planned this, but he somehow looked a little surprised, so that idea was ruled out.

“And you!” Clara yelled at James. “You want to use me to get closer to Lily, don’t you?!” James gave a ‘no idea what’re you talkin’ about, mate’ look, but it was obvious he did want to use Clara in such a way.

“Hey, Clara, will you go out with me?” Sirius asked suddenly, making Clara blush a bright red.

“Y-what? Wait, NO!” she yelled at his face, standing up and running back to her friends. She quickly slid the door open, and slammed it shut. She dropped down unto the seat next to Beatrice’s, who looked like she knew exactly what happened. “You-you knew about this!”

“No idea what you mean, Clara dear.” The ginger said innocently. Clara huffed, and ignored the boys’ questioning looks. What Clara was worried about, wasn’t that she had had her first kiss stolen by Sirius, or that Potter was trying to use her, or that Sirius wanted to go out with her, but that she almost said ‘yes’.

‘This is definitely gonna be a problem…’ Clara thought anxiously.


	4. Nevermind...

Clara was happier than she could ever be. She had her two best friends staying at her house, along with three of her closest family members, had no work, and didn’t have to see those four idiots for two whole months! It was like a dream.

But all dreams end, unfortunately. It had been the fifth day into the holidays, during breakfast. Clara had had a terrible dream. She had been Sirius’ girlfriend. During breakfast, the scenes’ of the dream played over and over in her head. Hugging, laughing, kissing…ew...and being around the marauders all of the time, and never seeing any of her current friends. A dark cloud of gloom was surrounding Clara, and everybody looked at her, incredibly shocked.

“Had a bad dream?” Lucius asked her. Clara nodded. “What about?” Silence. Clara didn’t want to answer. Instead she put her elbows on the table and hid her face in her hands. “That bad?” Clara nodded again.

“Terrible…horrible…worst thing ever.” She muttered. Beatrice rolled her eyes.

“I’m taking a guess and saying that it must be about the marauders.” She said flatly, causing Bellatrix to snigger. 

“What? Potter’s lot? Seriously? You scared of them or something?” she teased, eating her food. Clara faked a laugh.

“No. But they are SO annoying. Always bullying anybody who doesn’t bow down to them and that bas-” she started, but was stopped when she caught her mother’s eye from the kitchen. “Um…I meant, and that Sirius Black, who thinks he’s all mighty and powerful. He’s the worst.” 

Bellatrix nodded in agreement. She never had like her cousin, nor had Narcissa, but the latter remained neutral on this. Lucius only smirked. “You know, there’s a saying that dreams are where hidden desires surface…” Clara choked on her milk, coughing.

 

“‘S’cuse me, am I hearing what I think you said?” Clara said, coughing a little.

“I don’t know, are you?” Lucius pretended sweet innocence. Clara huffed.

“Hidden desires? Seriously? Cause I totally wanna go out with Black.” The words left her mouth before she could say anything. Narcissa looked wide eyed at her, Bellatrix and Lucius where smothering sniggers, while Severus was holding his fork so hard his knuckles where turning white.

“HA! I knew it! I told you a thousand times that you fancied him!” Beatrice exclaimed proudly. Clara turned a bright crimson.

“Be quiet! And anyway, it’s just a dream! I do not want to get in any kind of relationship with any of those four, much less Black! Um…Severus…?” Clara looked worriedly at Severus, who was staring at her with a very stern look.

“What happened on the train? You still haven’t told us what happened.” He asked flatly. Clara’s throat went dry, and her mind went fuzzy, her cheeks heating up even more. “The truth, Clara.” The named girl gulped.

“H-He just talked to me…and Potter arrived, so I insulted both of them and left.” She said, hiding part of what actually happened. Severus looked completely unconvinced, Beatrice and Bellatrix looked like a couple of fan girls who were about to hear their idol’s biggest secret (Even though Beatrice already knew what happened), Narcissa was simply listening finishing her meal, and Lucius had a knowing smile. 

“The whole truth.” Severus asked seriously. Clara shrunk under his look. Man…He could be scary when he wanted to be.

“Eh…well.” Clara told them what had happened, looking at her hands. At the end, Bellatrix had fallen off her chair, laughing madly, while Narcissa tuterred at her sister’s actions, Beatrice squealing happily, Severus looking like he had just got slapped. Lucius was the only one who was smiling lightly.

“So I was right. Dreams do surface hidden desires.” He said, more to himself.

“Not true! It was an accident, and he was obviously joking! He just wants to use me; well Potter does at least, so that he can get closer to Lily Evans!” Clara said indignantly. Beatrice giggled in a sort of ‘so naïve’ way. “What? Got a problem?” Clara said fiercely.

“No, just that you are the most naïve person I’ve ever met.” Beatrice said cheerfully, Clara looking at her with fiery eyes. “You are so late on the school’s talk, Clara. Everybody knows Sirius has had a crush on you since the third year.” Clara growled.

“That is such a lie! You planned with him for that to happen, and now my life’s gonna be hell because of that!” she yelled, far too embarrassed, and got up marching out of her room. “I’m going for a walk! And don’t any of you dare follow me!” she yelled, slamming the front door shut. 

Clara walked into the large forest, walking through the well-known path she often walked when she needed to cool down. She looked round at the beautiful scenery, and took in a deep breath. Clara walked about for about half an hour, till she arrived to the place where all the muggles went on their little swingy things, or had coffee and stuff. Little children and their parents were laughing and joking about, sliding down slides and playing in their little park things. Clara sat down on a stump, and watched them all, day dreaming at the same time. It was all so…relaxing, and actually made her feel better.

“I was hoping you’d come here sooner or later on your own.” Said a voice that Clara knew too well. She jolted up, standing so quietly she almost fell forwards, and wheeled round, looking at Sirius’ smirking face.

“Why are you here?! What do you want?!” Clara yelled, gaining the attention from a few people. “How do you know I live here?!”

“I have my sources.” Sirius said cockily. “And I don’t believe our conversation from the train was fully finished.”

“Sources, my ass! You mean Beatrice don’t you!?” Clara hissed at him angrily, and by Sirius guilty smile, she knew she had hit bull’s eye. “And what do you mean ‘not fully finished’?” 

“I mean this.” Sirius said, smirking widely. Before Clara could register what was happening, Sirius was kissing her. She struggled out of the animagus’ grip, but being taller and stronger, Sirius kept her in place. Clara was seriously trying to pull away from Sirius, but after a while, she guessed there was no point. Clara heard a couple of wolf whistles. Sirius pulled away from her.

“D’you mind?!” he barked at a couple of thirteen year old muggles, who quickly scurried off. He turned to Clara, who felt as if she had been hit on the forehead. “So, I’ll ask again: will you go out with me? And I don’t mean as a joke.” He grinned widely. Clara stared at him flatly with a hint of annoyance. 

“On one condition.” Clara said. Sirius looked nervously at her. “Don’t kiss me in public.” Sirius looked a little thunder struck, then realised the simple request and laughed loudly. Clara sighed, but smiled lightly.

‘Oh well…so much for it being a ‘dream’.’


	5. Last bit of innocence

Clara looked happily at her NEWT results. She had achieved everything with an ‘O’, which was more than she had ever dreamed of. This meant she could start learning to become an Auror, which pleased her greatly.

“How d’you do?” Sirius asked, looking over her shoulder. “Hmph, it’s to be expected from you though.” Clara chuckled, and kissed him on the cheek.

“You did well too.” She reminded him. Clara had now left Hogwarts, receiving her NEWT results. Sirius and she had been going out ever since that time in the forest, most to Severus’ anger. Severus, Regulus and Beatrice where still Clara’s friends, but now she had become close friends with James, Remus and Lupin, as well as a few others from Gryffindor. Even though she kept receiving warnings from Severus at first, Clara believed that becoming Sirius’ girlfriend had been the best choice of her life. Not much had happened during the last two years, apart from the fact that Lily and James had been going out since a while now (Beatrice almost fainted in happiness when she heard that), and Severus’ obsession with Dark Magic had increased, which worried Clara tremendously.

“Yeah, I guess.” Sirius grinned. Clara smiled back. Sirius now had his own place, and Clara had moved in with him, which was nice. But currently, Clara and her friends had been fighting against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but she didn’t know much, because she had too busy with other things. “I’m more worried about Voldemort. People are dying and being claimed missing every day.”

“Yeah…it’s been worrying me too. Ever since the end of school, I haven’t heard from either Lucius or Severus, good thing your brother is protected in Hogwarts.” Clara said, her voice filled with concern. Sirius nodded, but didn’t seem too bothered. “Oh, come on, will you stop acting like a toddler and grow up? All that stuff with your family is gone and dealt with, so why not forgive them, or at least say sorry?” Clara said with a large grin, pinching Sirius’ cheek.

“Oh, sure, I’ll just march to their front door, and say ‘‘Sup, dudes? We’ve hated each other for ages, but let’s forget about that and make up, ‘kay?’ Yeah, cause that’ll totally work.” Sirius huffed. Clara left it at that, and continued going through any mail. 

“There’s a letter from James and Lily. I hope it’ll be their wedding invitation, these two are just made for each other once Lily actually opened up to James.” Clara said, opening the letter. She sighed. “Nope, just a letter from James alone pleading help on what decision he should make. Here, you’re his best pal, and I’m sure you’ll know what to do.” 

“What? Do I look like a love matcher or something?” Sirius said from the sofa. Clara rolled her eyes, and put the letter on his face. “OK, OK, I’ll help him…but totally not my field. Or are you trying to hint at me that you want me to ask you the question?” Sirius raised an eyebrow. Clara blushed a little, but remembered Severus’ words.

“All in due time, Sirius.” She said simply, reading a letter from Remus. “Remus can’t get a job cause everybody sacred of werewolves. Idiots, Remus is super nice, and wouldn’t dream hurting anybody if he could help it. He should ask Dumbledore to become a teacher in Hogwarts.” Sirius only nodded in agreement. “What’s wrong?” 

“I think we should join the Order of the Phoenix.” Sirius said. Clara looked at Sirius, and he had a deadly serious expression.

“The organisation Dumbledore created to fight against Voldemort?” Clara asked. Sirius nodded. “Yeah, I think we should too. Beatrice was talking to me about it. Apparently, Alice and Frank have already joined it.” Sirius nodded. 

“And I think James and Lily should marry as soon as possible; we don’t know whether all of us will make it to see the end of Voldemort.” Sirius said, not joking. Clara nodded, and said nothing more.

Time skip

There was laughter, happiness and joy in the air. James’ and Lily’s wedding had been the only big celebration since Alice’s and Frank’s wedding, creating happiness everywhere. At the wedding, Sirius was the best man, much to his joy. The whole of the Order of the Phoenix, which Clara, Sirius and Beatrice had joined shortly after Clara and Sirius’ conversation, attended the wedding, as well for some other friends who knew nothing of the Order of the Phoenix. Hundreds of pictures were taken, camera’s flashing wildly.

Clara had now become a newbie Auror, much to her pleasure, and often worked with Frank and Alice. Beatrice was also an Auror, and they often worked together as well. Times where busy, and Clara was even more worried. It had been found out that Regulus was a Death Eater, as well as Lucius and Severus, much to Clara’s sorrow. After the wedding, Clara talked to Sirius.

“Sirius, I’ll be staying at my parents’ home tonight, if that’s OK.” Clara said to Sirius, who nodded, smiling brightly, and gave each other a chaste kiss. Clara walked back to her parents’ home with Molly and Arthur Weasley, along with their five boys. The new born twins, Fred and George, where sleeping quietly for once, Molly holding the younger twin, and Clara the older twin, while Arthur carried Percy, who was also fast asleep. Bill and Charlie held their parents’ hands as they got nearer to their destination. Clara was the god mother of the twins, which pleased her very much.

When they arrived, the lights were out, for her parents where still working. Her house elf, Zwinky, met them at the front door. “Hello, Zwinky. Can you please prepare two guest rooms?” she asked her house elf, who was wearing a clean pillow case. 

“Certainly, young mistress.” Said the elf as she went to prepare the rooms.

“You’re so kind Clara, for letting us stay here. The journey would be too much for all of us at night.” Arthur thanked, but Clara shook her head.

“Not at all, we’re family, and we stand up for each other.” Clara smiled. She was the type of person who believed such things, and kept to them, depending on the scene though. After putting the children to sleep and saying good night to Arthur and Molly, she went to her own room to change to her working robes, for she had to work tonight.

Leaving the house, Clara informed Zwinky that if she wasn’t back before eight o’clock tomorrow morning, to tell Sirius. Clara Apparated to where she would be checking out for any Death Eaters that night, swapping guard with Beatrice. When she didn’t see her anywhere, she grew a little worried, and took out her wand, walking slowly and carefully. 

“Took you long enough.” Said a drawling voice. Clara faced where the voice came from, and even though he was wearing a Death Eater mask, Clara could tell it was Lucius. But that’s not what caused to gasp. Beatrice had been knocked out cold, a patch of blood on the side of her head and seemed paler than usual. 

“Lucius! What-” Clara started, but was interrupted by the white-blond haired man.

“She’s not dead, just unconscious.” He said flatly and uncaring. Clara looked at him in fear. He was so different, he wasn’t the Lucius she looked up to, but a cold blooded creature. “But we can quickly change that. Crucius!” Beatrice screamed out in pain, twisting in agony.

“Stop! Stop it, Lucius!” Clara cried out, pointing her wand at Lucius, her hand shaking. She didn’t want to hurt him. She really didn’t, but there were some things that couldn’t be avoided. Behind Lucius, she saw the very familiar face of her closest friends. “Severus…” she said, almost pleading, as if Severus was on her side. But Severus was looking at her coldly with a straight face. Beatrice let out a final scream before the spell was lifted from her, where she moaned in pain and tried to catch her breath. Clara thought things carefully in her mind. How could she save Beatrice without getting her killed? Clara got an idea, and gulped. ‘I hope this works.’ 

Clara took a deep breath through her nose, and glared at both Lucius and Severus. “Incendio!” she yelled loudly. Immediately, flames were conjured from her wand at Lucius, making him dodge, and making a fence blow up in flamed instead. Clara rushed to Beatrice. “Zwinky, come here, quickly!” she ordered. With a snap her house elf appeared. “Zwinky! Take Beatrice and Apparate back home, then wake Arthur and Molly up! Tell them it was Lucius that hurt her! Hurry!” Zwinky took hold of Beatrice’s wrist, and with another snap disappeared. 

Clara quickly lifted her wand to the sky, hoping that Lucius and Severus were still confused from the blast. “Expecto Patronum!” she said loudly, thinking of Sirius as a white light gushed out of her wand immediately. It was the shape of a large black dog. It represented Sirius’ patronus, which was the same as his animagus form. It used to be a panther, but changed soon after she became his girlfriend. 

As soon as her patronus had run off towards wherever Sirius was, Clara ducked to dodge a spell from Lucius. Clara stood up, quickly attacking Lucius, and protecting herself. Where was Severus? She looked around quickly, not seeing him. She quickly ran into an open space on the small village she had been supposed to protect. Severus was in the middle, and she quickly protected herself from an Expelliarmus spell. She suddenly felt something hit the back of her head, hard. The world swam in front of her as she fell forwards, landing on the painful gravel. She could see Lucius’ blurry shape as Severus Apparated away from the spot. Clara could hear another person’s voice. 

“She’s weak, so she won’t be able to fight it.” Said Bellatrix’s voice. It was cold, and mocking, without any form of the cheerfulness Clara had known her with. 

“Imperio!” yelled Lucius. Clara felt herself lose control of her body, and a voice saying loudly in her head ‘Follow Lucius, obey him.’

‘No…no…Sirius…’ Clara thought helplessly, her body numbing, but the effect from being hit still affecting her. Even Clara couldn’t feel it, she knew she must have been crying. Why did all the people she had looked up to become like this? She couldn’t help but remember all the fun times they had had together. 

“CLARA!” yelled an all too familiar voice.

‘Sirius…’ she thought, before hearing the voice saying ‘Apparate. Apparate to Malfoy Manor.’ Feeling herself do so against her own will, she saw the failed attempts of Remus and Sirius to stop Lucius and Bellatrix. Darkness over took Clara.


	6. Last bit of innocence

Clara looked happily at her NEWT results. She had achieved everything with an ‘O’, which was more than she had ever dreamed of. This meant she could start learning to become an Auror, which pleased her greatly.

“How d’you do?” Sirius asked, looking over her shoulder. “Hmph, it’s to be expected from you though.” Clara chuckled, and kissed him on the cheek.

“You did well too.” She reminded him. Clara had now left Hogwarts, receiving her NEWT results. Sirius and she had been going out ever since that time in the forest, most to Severus’ anger. Severus, Regulus and Beatrice where still Clara’s friends, but now she had become close friends with James, Remus and Lupin, as well as a few others from Gryffindor. Even though she kept receiving warnings from Severus at first, Clara believed that becoming Sirius’ girlfriend had been the best choice of her life. Not much had happened during the last two years, apart from the fact that Lily and James had been going out since a while now (Beatrice almost fainted in happiness when she heard that), and Severus’ obsession with Dark Magic had increased, which worried Clara tremendously.

“Yeah, I guess.” Sirius grinned. Clara smiled back. Sirius now had his own place, and Clara had moved in with him, which was nice. But currently, Clara and her friends had been fighting against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but she didn’t know much, because she had too busy with other things. “I’m more worried about Voldemort. People are dying and being claimed missing every day.”

“Yeah…it’s been worrying me too. Ever since the end of school, I haven’t heard from either Lucius or Severus, good thing your brother is protected in Hogwarts.” Clara said, her voice filled with concern. Sirius nodded, but didn’t seem too bothered. “Oh, come on, will you stop acting like a toddler and grow up? All that stuff with your family is gone and dealt with, so why not forgive them, or at least say sorry?” Clara said with a large grin, pinching Sirius’ cheek.

“Oh, sure, I’ll just march to their front door, and say ‘‘Sup, dudes? We’ve hated each other for ages, but let’s forget about that and make up, ‘kay?’ Yeah, cause that’ll totally work.” Sirius huffed. Clara left it at that, and continued going through any mail. 

“There’s a letter from James and Lily. I hope it’ll be their wedding invitation, these two are just made for each other once Lily actually opened up to James.” Clara said, opening the letter. She sighed. “Nope, just a letter from James alone pleading help on what decision he should make. Here, you’re his best pal, and I’m sure you’ll know what to do.” 

“What? Do I look like a love matcher or something?” Sirius said from the sofa. Clara rolled her eyes, and put the letter on his face. “OK, OK, I’ll help him…but totally not my field. Or are you trying to hint at me that you want me to ask you the question?” Sirius raised an eyebrow. Clara blushed a little, but remembered Severus’ words.

“All in due time, Sirius.” She said simply, reading a letter from Remus. “Remus can’t get a job cause everybody sacred of werewolves. Idiots, Remus is super nice, and wouldn’t dream hurting anybody if he could help it. He should ask Dumbledore to become a teacher in Hogwarts.” Sirius only nodded in agreement. “What’s wrong?” 

“I think we should join the Order of the Phoenix.” Sirius said. Clara looked at Sirius, and he had a deadly serious expression.

“The organisation Dumbledore created to fight against Voldemort?” Clara asked. Sirius nodded. “Yeah, I think we should too. Beatrice was talking to me about it. Apparently, Alice and Frank have already joined it.” Sirius nodded. 

“And I think James and Lily should marry as soon as possible; we don’t know whether all of us will make it to see the end of Voldemort.” Sirius said, not joking. Clara nodded, and said nothing more.

Time skip

There was laughter, happiness and joy in the air. James’ and Lily’s wedding had been the only big celebration since Alice’s and Frank’s wedding, creating happiness everywhere. At the wedding, Sirius was the best man, much to his joy. The whole of the Order of the Phoenix, which Clara, Sirius and Beatrice had joined shortly after Clara and Sirius’ conversation, attended the wedding, as well for some other friends who knew nothing of the Order of the Phoenix. Hundreds of pictures were taken, camera’s flashing wildly.

Clara had now become a newbie Auror, much to her pleasure, and often worked with Frank and Alice. Beatrice was also an Auror, and they often worked together as well. Times where busy, and Clara was even more worried. It had been found out that Regulus was a Death Eater, as well as Lucius and Severus, much to Clara’s sorrow. After the wedding, Clara talked to Sirius.

“Sirius, I’ll be staying at my parents’ home tonight, if that’s OK.” Clara said to Sirius, who nodded, smiling brightly, and gave each other a chaste kiss. Clara walked back to her parents’ home with Molly and Arthur Weasley, along with their five boys. The new born twins, Fred and George, where sleeping quietly for once, Molly holding the younger twin, and Clara the older twin, while Arthur carried Percy, who was also fast asleep. Bill and Charlie held their parents’ hands as they got nearer to their destination. Clara was the god mother of the twins, which pleased her very much.

When they arrived, the lights were out, for her parents where still working. Her house elf, Zwinky, met them at the front door. “Hello, Zwinky. Can you please prepare two guest rooms?” she asked her house elf, who was wearing a clean pillow case. 

“Certainly, young mistress.” Said the elf as she went to prepare the rooms.

“You’re so kind Clara, for letting us stay here. The journey would be too much for all of us at night.” Arthur thanked, but Clara shook her head.

“Not at all, we’re family, and we stand up for each other.” Clara smiled. She was the type of person who believed such things, and kept to them, depending on the scene though. After putting the children to sleep and saying good night to Arthur and Molly, she went to her own room to change to her working robes, for she had to work tonight.

Leaving the house, Clara informed Zwinky that if she wasn’t back before eight o’clock tomorrow morning, to tell Sirius. Clara Apparated to where she would be checking out for any Death Eaters that night, swapping guard with Beatrice. When she didn’t see her anywhere, she grew a little worried, and took out her wand, walking slowly and carefully. 

“Took you long enough.” Said a drawling voice. Clara faced where the voice came from, and even though he was wearing a Death Eater mask, Clara could tell it was Lucius. But that’s not what caused to gasp. Beatrice had been knocked out cold, a patch of blood on the side of her head and seemed paler than usual. 

“Lucius! What-” Clara started, but was interrupted by the white-blond haired man.

“She’s not dead, just unconscious.” He said flatly and uncaring. Clara looked at him in fear. He was so different, he wasn’t the Lucius she looked up to, but a cold blooded creature. “But we can quickly change that. Crucius!” Beatrice screamed out in pain, twisting in agony.

“Stop! Stop it, Lucius!” Clara cried out, pointing her wand at Lucius, her hand shaking. She didn’t want to hurt him. She really didn’t, but there were some things that couldn’t be avoided. Behind Lucius, she saw the very familiar face of her closest friends. “Severus…” she said, almost pleading, as if Severus was on her side. But Severus was looking at her coldly with a straight face. Beatrice let out a final scream before the spell was lifted from her, where she moaned in pain and tried to catch her breath. Clara thought things carefully in her mind. How could she save Beatrice without getting her killed? Clara got an idea, and gulped. ‘I hope this works.’ 

Clara took a deep breath through her nose, and glared at both Lucius and Severus. “Incendio!” she yelled loudly. Immediately, flames were conjured from her wand at Lucius, making him dodge, and making a fence blow up in flamed instead. Clara rushed to Beatrice. “Zwinky, come here, quickly!” she ordered. With a snap her house elf appeared. “Zwinky! Take Beatrice and Apparate back home, then wake Arthur and Molly up! Tell them it was Lucius that hurt her! Hurry!” Zwinky took hold of Beatrice’s wrist, and with another snap disappeared. 

Clara quickly lifted her wand to the sky, hoping that Lucius and Severus were still confused from the blast. “Expecto Patronum!” she said loudly, thinking of Sirius as a white light gushed out of her wand immediately. It was the shape of a large black dog. It represented Sirius’ patronus, which was the same as his animagus form. It used to be a panther, but changed soon after she became his girlfriend. 

As soon as her patronus had run off towards wherever Sirius was, Clara ducked to dodge a spell from Lucius. Clara stood up, quickly attacking Lucius, and protecting herself. Where was Severus? She looked around quickly, not seeing him. She quickly ran into an open space on the small village she had been supposed to protect. Severus was in the middle, and she quickly protected herself from an Expelliarmus spell. She suddenly felt something hit the back of her head, hard. The world swam in front of her as she fell forwards, landing on the painful gravel. She could see Lucius’ blurry shape as Severus Apparated away from the spot. Clara could hear another person’s voice. 

“She’s weak, so she won’t be able to fight it.” Said Bellatrix’s voice. It was cold, and mocking, without any form of the cheerfulness Clara had known her with. 

“Imperio!” yelled Lucius. Clara felt herself lose control of her body, and a voice saying loudly in her head ‘Follow Lucius, obey him.’

‘No…no…Sirius…’ Clara thought helplessly, her body numbing, but the effect from being hit still affecting her. Even Clara couldn’t feel it, she knew she must have been crying. Why did all the people she had looked up to become like this? She couldn’t help but remember all the fun times they had had together. 

“CLARA!” yelled an all too familiar voice.

‘Sirius…’ she thought, before hearing the voice saying ‘Apparate. Apparate to Malfoy Manor.’ Feeling herself do so against her own will, she saw the failed attempts of Remus and Sirius to stop Lucius and Bellatrix. Darkness over took Clara.


	7. Sacrifice

Clara left the hospital on the same day she had been released from the controlling curse. Like her father, who had been the one to look after her for the day, had said: ‘She’s one hell of a tough cookie.’ Before going home, though, she went to visit Frank and Alice, and almost burst out crying from how they ended up, feeling that she was to blame for not having been strong enough to stop Bellatrix and the others.

She went home with her father at the end of the day, to be greeted by her tearful mother, who hugged the living daylights out of her. Remus and the Order of the Phoenix were there too, and all welcomed her back enthusiastically, even though the smiles Clara was giving were all empty. After many of them had left, Dumbledore, who had somehow been able to attend this…whatever they called it, ‘welcoming party’, smiled gently at Clara. The latter felt soothed, and smile sadly back.

“Clara, I thought you ought to know. Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, as well as Barty Crouch Jr, have all been sent to Azkaban.” Dumbledore told Clara. The brunette gasped.

“S-So soon?” she squeaked. Dumbledore nodded, and placed a bowl of chocolate ice cream in her hands. Clara looked at it in confusion, and looked back at Dumbledore.

“As I recall you were always rather fond of chocolate ice cream.” Dumbledore said with a light chuckle. Clara flushed up and smiled sheepishly.

“Thank you.” She said quietly. “…I was wondering, what’s happened to Severus?” Her voice broke when she finished her sentence and she felt tears enter her eyes. Dumbledore smiled a little brighter, and only tapped his nose with his index finger. Clara didn’t understand what he meant by this, but let it drop. “Lucius? Narcissa?” 

“They are having their trial tomorrow. On the subject of trials, Barty Crouch, Senior mind you, has requested that you attend the trial as a witness.” Clara looked up in disbelief. 

“W-Why?”

“Because he does not have firm evidence that puts the Malfoys into Azkaban. Your testimony will seal their fate.” Dumbledore replied. Clara was so dumbstruck that the bowl of chocolate ice cream would’ve smashed if Dumbledore hadn’t caught it at the last second. He waved his wand, and a silver spoon appeared out of nowhere. “You should eat the ice cream before it melts.” He gave the spoon to Clara. The brunette ate her ice cream slowly, thinking over what Dumbledore had said, as well as asking him a couple of questions about what had happened over the last few years. During this, the ice cream made her remember the last day of her OWLs examinations, where Sirius had looked so pitiful, and where he had come to thank her for the help during the meal.

‘Sirius…’

When she had finished the ice cream, only Dumbledore and her parents were left. “Now, before I leave, Clara, may you please escort me to the front door?”

Clara was a little taken back from this strange request, but nodded, giving Zwinky her bowl on the way, smiling at the happily tearful house elf. At the front door, Dumbledore turned to Clara, looking very serious. “Clara, I want you to understand, that Severus was never actually a Death Eater.” He said seriously. Clara gaped at him.

“B-But, Professor-!” Clara started, but a slim, wrinkled hand was held up in a silent order to let Dumbledore continue.

“You should stop calling me ‘Professor’. Well, as I was saying Severus did receive the Dark Mark from Voldemort, but was actually working for me, and was sending me information from what he heard from the Death Eaters. I am sure you know Regulus died?” Clara nodded quickly tears filling her eyes again. “Yes, well, in the same year, his father died.” Clara looked unbelievingly at him, but said nothing. “This was told to me by Severus. Any questions?”

“Two. Why didn’t he help Beatrice the night Lucius put the Imperio curse on me?”

“Severus had to follow his orders, otherwise he would have been found out.”

“And why didn’t he help…” Clara’s voice broke again, she took a deep breath. “…Lily and James?”

“Severus did not know that Voldemort was planning to kill them, even though he did know that he was planning to kill their child, and is very sorry for their death.” Dumbledore answered. “Clara, you must believe me when I say that I put my full trust in Severus.”

Clara nodded weakly. “I-If you trust him, then I trust him too.” She said, an equally weak voice speaking instead of her usual voice. Dumbledore nodded, smiling once again. He opened the door, and Clara stared at none other than Severus. She had weird mix of emotions, she felt angry at him she hated him, yet, she couldn’t helped being over joyed to finally see him, and so happy that he was alright. 

“I explained the issue to the Minister of Magic, and Severus has been discharged of any accusations.” Dumbledore explained. Clara felt tears run down her cheeks, and did the last thing any of the three of them would have expected Clara to do. She hugged Severus like her life depended on it. It was obvious Severus felt completely out of place, but still did the most as to lay a hand on her shoulder.

“S-Sorry…” she said as she let Severus free of the hug. “I couldn’t help myself.” She sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks. Severus nodded understandingly. “I-It’s only you, Beatrice and Remus left from the school days now…” she said through her uncontrollable tears. Severus nodded again.

“I apologize for hiding this from you.” He said quietly. Clara smiled and nodded. Dumbledore smiled brightly.

“It is good to see that you are getting along again.” He said joyfully. “On a final note, Clara, the Malfoys’ trial will start tomorrow at three o’clock in the afternoon. I will meet you there, next to the fountain at that time. Agreed?” Clara nodded. “Good, then Severus, we will return to Hogwarts.”

“Wait, you work at Hogwarts now?” Clara asked Severus, who nodded. “Lemme guess…you teach…Potions?” Severus gave a small smile and nodded. “Not surprised honestly…you were amazing at Potions.”

“Much like yourself.” Severus answered, making Clara grin widely. “I hope to see you soon.” he Disapparated after Dumbledore. Clara closed the front door, and went back to the room where her parents were waiting for her. Clara smiled brightly at them as they hugged her for the 200th time. They spent the rest of the evening together. 

Before going to her room , Clara paid a visit to Zwinky, who was finishing up the washing in the kitchen.

“Zwinky.” She said gently, making the house elf look at her.

“Young mistress wishes something?” Zwinky asked in her high pitched voice.

“No, I wanted to thank you.” Clara answered. Zwinky looked shocked. “Thank you for saving Beatrice. And for looking after the house.” Zwinky had tears filling her eyes.

“I-I was only following my master’s and mistresses’ orders.” She said shakily.

“Yes, but you did them good heartedly. So, thank you, Zwinky, for being such a help to the family, and being a very important member of the house.” Clara said, smiling brightly. Zwinky burst into happy tears.

“Young mistress is so kind to Zwinky, always! Even when young mistress was little!” She said through loud sobs, as Clara hugged her gently.

The next day, Clara woke up early. She had thought things while falling asleep and had made up her mind. She made breakfast for her parents, even though Zwinky was against it. Clara smiled to Zwinky and said that she could help. At breakfast, Clara asked her parents if it was OK for Zwinky to eat with them at the table, for it was thanks to her that Beatrice was alive. Her parents agreed enthusiastically, for they were both good people. Zwinky cried again, but in the end, all four of them enjoyed their early breakfast together. 

After this, Clara visited all of her friends for a quick visit, spending the lunch with Remus. She then went to St Mungo’s Hospital to visit Frank and Alice quickly, meeting Frank’s mother there. 

“Oh, Clara, my dear.” She said. Clara smiled to her, and noticed she was holding a rather plump looking child. “Oh, this is Neville.” Clara smiled sadly.

“He looks like Alice…or at least, how she used to look like.” Clara added quietly. Frank’s mother nodded, looking as strict and composed as ever. 

“Yes, he does indeed. “ she nodded jerkily. Clara remembered that Frank and Alice didn’t recognise their son at all, and felt the guiltiness of being too weak to stop the Lestranges and Crouch Jr from doing this to them. “I can tell you are feeling guilty, and you should not! It was you-know-who’s fault! Who saved one of your friends, and my son and daughter-in-law did not give in to the torture. I am very proud of both of them!”

Clara thought this was a bit arrogant, but knew that Frank’s mother meant good. After saying goodbye to her and the one year old Neville, she left the hospital, and apparated to the Ministry of Magic. She passed all of the security stuff, and met Dumbledore next to the fountain.

“Ah, right on time.” He said brightly. Clara smiled sweetly, and followed Dumbledore to the appointed trial room.

“Pro-”

“What did I say about calling me ‘Professor’?” Dumbledore scorned jokily. Clara smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, old habit. Albus, what does Harry look like?” Clara said in a quiet voice, not wanting to be overheard. Dumbledore chuckled.

“I thought you’d want to know that. He has his mother’s eyes.” He answered, Clara trying to imagine what Harry looked like. “And his father’s features.” Clara nodded. “Everybody is now calling him ‘The Boy who Lived’.”

“Not surprising. Beatrice told me he was being looked after his aunt and uncle.” Clara replied with a smile.

“Yes, indeed. I am a little worried about how he is going to be treated, but at least he will be safe in the Muggle world.” Dumbledore nodded. “Ah, here we are. Remember, just tell them the truth.” They entered the trial room, and Clara saw how Barty Crouch, once saw proud looking, had turned into a very gloomy looking man. All the people who had come to watch, including Remus, Clara’s parents, Beatrice, Allistor Moody and Severus, smiled sympathetically at her. Clara didn’t smile back, and just went to her appointed seat.

She looked sideways, and saw Lucius and Narcissa, both seemingly composed, but Clara could tell they were terrified, or at least Lucius was. Clara looked down at her lap on her hands.

“We are today to trial Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.” Said Barty Crouch’s weary voice. “What are the accusations?” 

A skinny woman, whom Clara did not know, stood up, and said: “Lucius Malfoy is accused for being a Death Eater, and following He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s orders. The same accusations have been placed on Narcissa Malfoy.” The woman sat down.

“And what do the suspects say of these accusations?” Barty Crouch asked Lucius and Narcissa.

“They are false, Minister. We have been under the Imperio curse while doing these acts.” Said Lucius’ steady drawling voice, though Clara alone could tell there was panic in his voice.

“Are you aware, however, of the testimony of the witness’ house elf, named Zwinky, saying that you used the Crucio on an Auror, who is in the audience today but will be kept anonymous, and was stopped by the witness themselves?” Crouch said, motioning to Clara, who was still looking at her lap. Lucius shifted ever so slightly.

“I was unaware of such a testimony, though I can tell you it was wrongly accused upon me, for as I have explained before, both me and my wife were under the Imperio curse.” Lucius said smoothly. 

“Hm, well, we have here a witness, who we have been told you put the Imperio curse upon, and would have noticed if you had been under the named curse yourself or not.” Crouch said suspiciously, turning to Clara. “Clara de Rambures, have anything to say of these accusations? Is it true that you were under the Imperio curse, put upon you by Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy at the same time?”

Clara stared down at her lap. She looked up slowly, and smiled evilly at Barty Crouch. The audience gasped. Clara grinned madly. “Shows you how stupid the Ministry can get, don’t you think?” she said, her voice full of mocking.

“Excuse me?” Barty Crouch asked, shocked.

“I said, ‘shows you how stupid the Ministry can get, don’t you think?’” Clara repeated, louder.

“I don’t think I understand.” Crouch’s voice asked, even more shocked.

“See? This is what I mean.” Clara’s voice was drowned in mockery. “Lord Voldemort would have easily overthrown you! Lord Voldemort may have gone, but us Death Eaters will always search for him and he will come back to power! Pathetic people like you have only momentarily power against us!” 

The audience gasped, Clara’s mum was in tears, and her father’s face was red. Remus and Beatrice were shocked beyond belief, Allistor Moody seemed to have lost his glass eyes from the shock of it. Even Dumbledore, who had sat next to her parents seemed to be at loss of words. The only one who seemed to have expected this was Severus.

“Are you saying-…?!” Barty Crouch stood up in pure fury.

“That’s right! I put the Malfoys under the Imperio curse! I order my house elf to tell you those things if she was ever asked! I’ve been the culprit along!” Clara yelled, her grin not fading.

“But why?!” Said the skinny woman from earlier. “A brilliant witch as yourself! Why waste it all?!”

“Because I’m sick of all these Mudbloods walking about, thinking they are equal to Purebloods! We are above them! Muggles, half-breeds, muggle-borns, all of them!” Clara answered, motioning especially to Remus on the ‘half-breeds’ part. He stared at her in utter terror, which reminded Clara of the time she had saved Severus. “But these two wouldn’t cooperate, and my Lord needed more followers! Being the last of the Purebloods, that’s their duty to follow him! So I put the Controlling curse on them! And you were all too stupid to realise it!”

Clara grinned wider at the disgusted faces. Beatrice stood up. “No! Clara that’s not true! Don’t say these things!” she yelled, looking completely overwhelmed by all of this. 

“And how do you know?! EH?! I was just playing the nice girl at the time! Don’t think you know me completely!” Clara yelled back, making Beatrice at loss of words. 

“Why you traitor!” Barty Crouch yelled angrily. “Take her to Azkaban! You can stay there for the remaining of your days!”

Two Aurors grabbed Clara by the arm, and searched for her wand, but didn’t find it anywhere, for Clara had secretly slipped it into Dumbledore’s robes while they talked. They pulled her out the trial room, taking her into another room, where she was thrown in. “You stay here while we call you transport to Azkaban.” They said in disgust. Clara only glared at them. When the door closed, her evil grin faded immediately. 

Outside, there was commotion, and one of the Aurors entered the room. “5 minutes.” Clara’s parents burst in, followed by Remus, Beatrice, Allistor Moody and Dumbledore.

“Clara, why?!” Her mother sobbed, clinging unto her. “You just came back to us!”

“Why are you doing this?!” her father said angrily. Clara didn’t answer.

“You don’t need to do this, they deserve it!” Beatrice joined in. Remus still looked terrified, while Dumbledore looked gently at them. Allistor frowned.

“What’s the meaning of what happened, eh?” he growled. Clara looked down.

“…I…I don’t know.” She said, barely a whisper. “I just…”

“What do ya mean ya don’t know?” Allistor asked, louder. Clara stared at her feet. Beatrice shook Clara. 

“Clara, just stop! Why are you standing up for those two?” She asked desperately. “Apart from Remus and Severus, you are the only one left!”

“I know that! Look, I have my reasons, OK?! Lucius and Narcissa are precious to me, like all of you, but…Sirius is more precious…I’d rather go to Azkaban, where I can at least see a glimpse of him, or maybe hear about him, than live my life normally without him.” Clara answered. Remus looked at her, then smiled.

“You really haven’t changed, you know that?” he said sadly. Clara smiled to him.

“I’m sorry.” She squeaked.

“I should have expected it.” Dumbledore shook his head in defeat. “I should of known you’d want to be with Sirius even in the worst of places.” Clara grinned.

“Yeah.” She said happily.

“Don’t look so happy!” Beatrice begged. “You’re going to Azkaban! With the Dementors!” Clara’s mother sobbed again. 

“I’m sorry.” Clara apologized again.

“It’s been 5 minutes, you have to leave.” The Auror said. Clara’s father gave Clara one last sad look, and lead her mother out of the room. Beatrice wouldn’t let go of Clara, and was pried away from her by Allistor, who nodded in goodbye. Remus gave her one last smile, and left too. Dumbledore looked at her for a second.

“Well, I guess I’ll keep the wand as a keep safe.” He whispered with a soothing smile and a wink. Clara gave him an evil smile because the Auror was there, but Dumbledore knew she meant to smile brightly to him. He left the room, and in entered the two Aurors. They tied Clara’s hand behind her back, and led her out the room. They led her to a secret tunnel, but they were stopped by Severus, Lucius and Narcissa. 

“We need to have a word with her.” Severus said dryly. The Aurors groaned in annoyance but let go of her, and walked a little far off from them. Lucius was the first to speak.

“Clara, why?” he asked, his voice flat.

“First of all, you’re a bastard.” Clara answered bluntly. “And you’re a bitch.” She said to Narcissa. “But I care for you both. Secondly, you two have a one year old son at home. We already have two children who won’t have their parents to look after them, I don’t want a third to join them.” 

“But, Clara…” Narcissa said, her voice quiet. “We were the ones to control you…why do you care?”

“Because no matter how you change or become, I will still remember that you were once two of the three people I looked up the most, and who were the ones to joke with me at my home.” Clara answered truthfully. Narcissa cried quietly, and Lucius gave her an apologetic look. “You better look after Draco, or I will kick you next time I see you, OK?” Clara grinned at him, and he gave a small smile back. They left, Lucius wrapping an arm around Narcissa’s shoulders. Severus stood in front of her.

“I knew you would do something immature like this.” He said. Clara stuck her tongue out at him.

“Of course you did, Mr know-it-all.” She joked. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Even if I tried, your stubbornness would overwhelm me.” He answered. Clara laughed quietly.

“OK, you got me there…” she said. Severus smiled sadly at her. “Come on, don’t give me that look.”

“Hm. Take care.” Severus said, patting her on the shoulder lightly.

“You too. And look after Draco. Oh, and no matter how James’ and Lily’s son looks like them, don’t bully him too much.” She teased. Severus chuckled lightly, and left. The two Aurors grabbed Clara’s arms again, and entered the tunnel, where a chariot was waiting to take Clara to Azkaban.


	8. Love you too much for my own good

Dirty, depressing, gloomy, sad, evil…just negative stuff popped up in Clara’s head as she saw Azkaban. ‘Well, I put this on myself, Soooo…I have no reason to complain. This is gonna be ‘fun’.’ The memory of her comfortable bed and yummy food seemed like a millennium ago.

As she was pulled out of the carriage and into the prison, Clara felt the coldness that went down her spine. ‘Oh, yippee, Dementors. Even better; man…I wish I didn’t love Sirius so much.’ Clara thought sarcastically. 

A dementor was at the front gates, waiting for her. It led the way inside, much to the Aurors’ horror, and to Clara’s added sarcasm. The Aurors and Clara entered the prison, where Clara was given so very old clothes. ‘I’d bet anything that several people have died in this. Whatever…’ Clara thought, a little grossed out at the idea, but finally glad to have a reason to throw away the robes she had been currently wearing, for they had been given to her by an aunt, and they were fine in colour and size, just the fabric was itchingly murderous. She quickly change into her ‘new’ clothes, and then realised the Aurors had made a run for it and left. ‘Wimps.’ Clara thought in her mind.

The seemingly same dementor led her to her prison cell. Clara passed many prisoners, all looking very messed up. She then passed Bellatrix’s cell; the woman inside gaping at her. She grabbed Clara’s wrist as she passed. 

“And how come you’re here?” She said in disbelief. The dementor didn’t noticed that Clara had been forcefully stopped.

“I gave false testimony in trial to make myself come here instead of Lucius and Narcissa.” Clara answered. Bellatrix grinned nastily.

“Oh? Still soft hearted are we?” she asked mockingly. Clara looked at her, and smiled sweetly, making the black haired woman frowned. 

“No, but unlike you, I care for Draco’s welfare, because I don’t want him to grow without his parents; there are already two too many of those.” She said gently. At that moment, another dementor appeared, and Bellatrix quickly let go of Clara’s wrist. The dementor approached Bellatrix, and she cowered away into a deep corner of her cell. The dementor that had led Clara returned, and looked as though it was about to do it’s ‘suck all the happiness outta ya’ , like Clara called it, thing, but stopped when Clara obediently followed it.

Clara then passed the cell of the person she was here for in the first place. Sirius. Said man looked at her, and his eyes widened. The dementor opened the cell gates, and Clara silently entered it, the dementor closing the cell gates behind her. 

“C-Clara…?” Said a quiet voice from the other side of the wall.

“ ‘Sup?” she asked jokily. She noticed a small hole in the wall, around the width of her index finger, which seemed to have been gnawed through by insects or something of the sort. She looked through, and saw Sirius’ eye. “You gonna tell me what happened with that scumbag of a rat?” 

Sirius frowned. “Yeah, but before that…what did the others say?” worry was in his voice. Clara smiled sadly, even though she knew Sirius couldn’t see it.

“The Weasleys are determined that you are a murderer, as well as Beatrice. R-Remus thinks so too, because apparently you had been suspicious of him for a while now…is that true Sirius?” Clara answered. Sirius nodded.

“Yeah, I thought that he had been a spy, following Voldemort’s orders…” Sirius said truthfully.

“Man, how stupid d’you get…?” Clara muttered, and saw the annoyed look in Sirius’ eye. “Can’t blame you though…After seeing Lucius, Narcissa and Bellatrix follow Voldemort’s orders, I can understand why people have become suspicious of each other. I’d never have expected those three to have become like that….”

Sirius sighed. “Yeah, well ya wanted to know what happened with that bastard, Wormtail.” Sirius started. He explained how he had found Peter, and had started to attack him because he knew only Peter could have given away James’ and Lily’s location. Somehow or the other, Pettigrew had been able to gather the brains and abilities to kill a large amount of muggles in the street, for they had been in a muggle street, as well as cutting off his little finger and turning into a rat, scurrying into the sewers. Of course, the Ministry of Magic immediately put the blame on Sirius, and that’s how he had found himself in Azkaban.

“Why that scrawny little son of a-…anyway…I’ll tell you how I got here.” And Clara told Sirius what happened over the last couple years, and what had happened earlier in the day.

“And you call me stupid?” Sirius asked flatly. “You could’ve looked after Draco yourself! His parents aren’t gonna bring him up well, you know that.”

“Maybe…but at least they’ll be his actual parents. Harry won’t ever know James or Lily, and Neville will only know his parents as the mad people in St Mungo’s. I don’t want Draco to live with the tale of his parents having both been in Azkaban. Bellatrix is bad enough.” Clara explained. Sirius sighed, but nodded.

At that moment, a dementor passed them. Instantly, Clara felt dizzy, cold, miserable. She could hear crying, screaming…then the dementor left, and Clara was left there. “S-Sirius…?” she whispered. She could hear him breathing deeply. “…unhappy thoughts…”

“What…?” Sirius whispered. 

“When you’re upset, people say: ‘think happy thoughts’. In our case, it should be: ‘think unhappy thoughts’, don’t you agree?” Clara said quietly, hearing Sirius chuckle sadly.

“Even in such a place, you think of the silliest things. Nothing’s gonna change you ever, I can assure you that.” Sirius said. Clara smiled weakly, and raised her left hand. It was clenched around a small object; a silver tear-trop shaped locket, with the initials ‘C.d.R’ in green upon it. Clara had held it in her hand the whole time.

She put in on, looking at it. She remembered how happy she was when she had received it. Clara viciously shook her head. No…bad…Lucius…what he did…unhappy things…a dementor passed again, and visions of Voldemort and Pettigrew flashed in front of Clara’s eyes.

~

Years passed. Clara didn’t know how many. Nor did she care; staying sane was all that was important. ‘Staying sane’, seemed easy, doesn’t it? Try being in Azkaban for a heck of a lot of years.

Some prisoners had died of insanity. Barty Crouch Jr hadn’t made it a month till he died. The Lestranges where always screaming about Voldemort, and most prisoners muttered to themselves continuously. Clara and Sirius seemed to be the only ones with their heads still strongly screwed on. Clara had heard herself scream, felt herself cry, but the knowledge of Draco being protected by his parents, the knowledge that her friends were safe, was all that could keep her from losing herself.

Clara often held her locket tightly, taking deep breathes, remembering the worst thoughts she could muster. Sirius was quiet these days, but Clara knew that his knowledge of his innocence was what was keeping him from going insane.

Years, after years. Clara felt as if it had been a century already, and wondered if time slowed down in Azkaban. 

A dementor opened her cell gate. Frost covered the walls immediately and Clara shivered. Her food was put on the ground, and as she looked at it, she noticed a Daily Prophet in the Dementor’s skeletal hand. 

‘OK, since when do Dementors read the ‘Daily Prophet’?’ Clara thought. She noticed the picture of the front page. Weasleys…the Weasleys!

Clara took in everything she could from the picture in the short time he could see it. Egypt, Bill, Charlie, Arthur, Molly, Ron, Fred and George. ‘They’ve grown so much…Ron looks about…thirteen, maybe…fourteen, Weasley size considered.’ Clara noticed a girl next to him, but didn’t recognise her. ‘Seems Molly and Arthur have a daughter…what’s Ron holding?’ Clara noticed the animal in Ron’s hand. An abnormally fat rat. Clara paid no more attention to it, but as the dementor left, Clara felt a wave of warmth and happiness flood through her. They were well, that’s all that mattered.

“Clara…!” Sirius whispered hurriedly. Clara looked at him through the hole. “Did you see the rat on the newspaper?! The one the youngest Weasley boy was holding?!” 

“Yeah, what about it?” Clara whispered back, wondering what this sudden excitement for a simple rat was. Because seriously, they saw those every day.

“That rat, it’s Wormtail!” Sirius exclaimed quietly. Clara gaped.

“Peter? B-But...how could you tell?” Clara asked hurriedly.

“One of the rat’s front paw’s little finger was missing. Wormtail cut his little finger off before transforming into his Animagus form!” Sirius answered. “We gotta get out of Azkaban, and quickly!”

“Sirius, darling, I think you are finally losing your marbles. Nobody has ever escaped Azkaban before, and if I knew of a way to escape it, I would’ve done a long time ago; even if I did put this curse upon myself.” Clara said, sounding as if she had expected this. Sirius frowned.

“We just need to turn into our Animagi forms. Dementors don’t feel an animal’s emotions, for animals don’t have a conscience, or if they do, it’s not as obvious as ours, and Dementors don’t even realise they are there. How do you think these rats in here are coming in and out of our cells?” Sirius answered seriously. Clara stared at Sirius’ black iris.

“You sneaky idiot! Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” Clara hissed.

“Cause I wanted to wait till Wormtail showed himself.” Sirius answered, a hint of worry in his voice for making Clara a little angry.

“And what if he hadn’t?” Clara asked nastily. Sirius seemed a little lost at words there.

“Erm…I hadn’t thought of that. Good thing he did though, eh?” Sirius said, sounding a little sheepish. Clara sighed.

“Fine, so when are we escaping?” Clara asked irritably.

“Tomorrow, when the Dementors bring us the food.” Sirius said.

And so it became official. The next day, when the dementor opened the cell gate, Clara quickly changed into her panther form, and slipped past the dementor without being noticed. Sirius, in his dog form, was flattened against the wall, waiting for her. They quietly trotted to the lowest floor, passing the prisoners, who didn’t even seem to notice their existence. However, once again, Bellatrix grabbed Clara, this time on her tail. 

Clara let out a hiss of pain, and turned round angrily to glare at Bellatrix. The latter was really messed up. Yellow teeth, matted hair, quite different from the last time Clara had seen her. “Where are we going, Clara? Breaking outta Azkaban? I’m not letting you go until you bring me with you.” She said darkly. 

Sirius growled at her. Clara frowned, and shook her head. “But I’m your childhood friend, Clara. Come on, help me.” Bellatrix said, a little whimper in her voice. Clara felt a pang of guilt in her stomach, the same as when she had seen Sirius so helpless in the exam. Sirius noticed this, and scratched Bellatrix’s hand, making her yelp, and let go of Clara’s tail. Before Clara could do anything though, her ear was in between Sirius’ teeth, and she was being pulled painfully to Azkaban’s front gates. 

She glared disapprovingly at Sirius, who just looked apologetic, and they quickly slipped through the gates, and made a run for it. Freedom. 

~

A lot of walking. It had been quite a few days now. Sirius and Clara had planned things ahead. Peter was probably acting like Ron’s pet, and so Ron would take him to Hogwarts, because the youngest Weasley boy was most probably still at Hogwarts. They would go to Hogwarts, and murder the bloody coward. But Sirius really wanted to see Harry before they went direction Hogwarts, so after looking up a couple of things here and there, they went to Privet drive, were Harry lived.

It was night when they arrived, and from afar, they could hear a large trunk being dragged along the pavement. They were hiding in between two houses, in a narrow gap, when they saw it was a scruffy, black haired boy, who seemed to be rather angry. Sirius sniffed the air, and his eyes brightened. Clara realised, that it was Harry. Like Dumbledore had said, he had Lily’s eyes, but looked like a copy of James. Sirius had seen him before, but as a toddler, and this was Clara’s first time. But fortune always being on their bad side, Sirius stepped on a stray twig, making the green eyes boy jump and look straight at them. He raised his wand, and whispered Lumos. As soon as the light shone, the young boy gasped and let go of it.

Out of nowhere, a bus appeared. Clara remembered the Night Bus, and used this occasion to drag Sirius by the tail out of Harry’s view while the boy was distracted. As soon as she found it safe enough, Clara turned into her human form again, soon joined by Sirius, who seemed a little out of it.

“He…really looks like James…” he said, as if hypnotised. Clara nodded.

“Yeah, he has Lily’s eyes. He’s really become a good looking boy.” Clara added, and Sirius looked at her lifting an eyebrow.

“So you found James good looking? This is something I haven’t heard about.” Sirius said, which was the first thing that he had said for a long time that reminded Clara of the old Sirius. She grinned.

“Jealous? Come on, we got to get going.” She teased, turning back to her panther form, and walking towards the vague direction where Hogwarts was. She was joined by the large black dog.

~

“Whaddya mean: ‘Go to your parents’ home and hide there.’?!” Clara growled angrily. Sirius and her where now inside the bounds of Hogwarts, and were hiding in the Black Forest. “I’ve come this far with you, and I’m not leaving!”

Sirius frowned. “Just listen. If I get caught, you will get caught too! I don’t want both of us to go back to Azkaban!” he yelped when Clara hit him on the head. “What was that for?!” he hissed.

“You know fully well I’m not the one to play the part of the ‘Damsel in Distress’! Stop worrying, I can look after myself!” Clara scorned.

“Yeah, last time, it didn’t go so well; you were controlled by the Imperio curse, just to remind you.” Sirius retorted. Clara flinched, she hated to be reminded.

“Th-that was before! And I’m not leaving, so stop trying!” she said through gritted teeth. Sirius saw there was no point in arguing.

“Fine…first things first: we need to get your wand from Dumbledore’s office.” Sirius said seriously. Sirius’ wand was at the Ministry, and it was too tricky to go get it, so if Clara could get her wand, then it would already be a start.

“Yeah, smartass, I know. And how do you plan to get it?” Clara said moodily, still upset at Sirius. Sirius frowned.

“We’ll need to infiltrate the castle, and go to Dumbledore’s office. For the password, we can guess that it’ll be anything to do with sweets.” He said, and Clara nodded grumpily. “You’ll do that. I’ll enter the castle, and try to get into Gryffindor to get Wormtail.”

“Say wut? How do you know Ron’s in Gryffindor? And you have no idea what the password is.” Clara inquired, a little worried at the trickiness of it all.

“He’s a Weasley, he’ll be in Gryffindor. And I’ll need to get the password somehow from the portrait.” He answered, as if it was all a piece of cake. Clara sighed, and nodded.

“Fine. And when are you planning to do this?” Clara asked suspiciously.

“During lessons.” Sirius said.

‘Sirius’ logic: Try to kill someone during the day when anybody can see instead of the night when most people are asleep.’ Clara thought irritably. ‘Typical.’

~

Clara trotted through the Hogwarts corridors, looking left and right, sniffing the air to make sure there was nobody around. She hid when a few ghosts passed, but other than that, nothing. There were the portraits and paintings, but she somehow went unnoticed. She arrived in front of the gargoyle, and gulped. She changed back into her human form.

“…Chocolate frogs? No…Acid Drops? OK, fine. Toffee Éclairs? Tsch…I dunno Cockroach Clusters?! Argh!” This was proving to be difficult, and Clara’s hot temper was rising. “Oh for the sake of-! CRYSTALIZED PINEAPPLE! PUMPKIN PASTIES!” At the last name, the Gargoyle jumped aside, making way for Clara. “Eh? But Pumpkin Pasties aren’t even sweets…” she grumbled, and quickly went up the stairs, entering Dumbledore’s office. She peeked in, and entered it when she saw that Dumbledore wasn’t there.

Stuff was everywhere, like it had always been, and Clara growled. “How in the name of Salazar Slytherin am I going to find my wand?!” 

“Stop yelling, girl!” said a voice. Clara spun to the voice, and saw that it was only the portrait of Phineas Black, Sirius’ great-grandfather. “Wait! You’re…it can’t be. Clara?” the portraits around him gasped, and all the Headmasters and Headmistresses were staring at Clara. Clara was very uncomfortable under their gazes. 

“E-Eh…y-yes, sir…” Clara’s nervousness caused her to say ‘sir’, even though there was no need. All the portraits were now muttering.

“Dumbledore said you had been sent to Azkaban because you gave a false testimony to protect Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, how come you are here?” Phineas asked. Clara twitched at the name.

“I-I escaped. Long story, I’ll tell Dumbledore and he can tell you; if I ever get to talk to him that is. Anyway, do you know where he put my wand?” she asked hurriedly.

“Hm, depends. Was it made of Yew, about 13 inches long?” Phineas asked. Clara nodded. “Oh, yes. He put it in the top left drawer of the desk, in a black wand box.” Clara searched for her wand in said place, and when she found it, she pocketed it quickly. “Clara, I need to ask you, what has happened to Regulus? Dumbledore wouldn’t say, and I haven’t been able to talk to my descendants back at their home.”

Clara froze. “R-Regulus…? Oh…h-h-he died a few years ago…wait…How long have I been in A-Azkaban?” she asked quickly.

“Well, Harry Potter was one when you entered it, and he is now thirteen, so give or take, about twelve years.” Said one of the portraits. Clara nodded in thanks, glancing to Phineas. 

“What has happened to the Black family?”

“Died. The only ones left are Narcissa, Bellatrix and that useless great-grandson of mine, Sirius.” Phineas said. Clara frowned, and nodded, thanking him, and sprinted out of the office. When she was next to the gargoyle, she turned into her Animagus form, and sprinted back to where she had come from. 

“You! Stop right there!” A loud voice was heard through the corridors. Clara flinched. Lessons hadn’t ended, so how…? She turned round, and saw a hissing cat and an old looking, weather-beaten man, who looked oddly like an elderly Filch. Clara gasped and sprinted away. “Professor McGonagall! I’ve found a suspicious animal!” Clara could hear him yelling, and quickly sprinted to the seventh floor, which was the floor below her. She looked to the left corridor, and quickly trotted in front of it three times.

‘I need a place to get out of here, I need a place to get out of Hogwarts, I need to a place to get out of Hogwarts.’ A door appeared. It looked a lot like the front gates of Hogwarts. She rushed through them, and found herself outside. ‘Eh? I didn’t know this could happen!’ she thought, relieved, and ran to the Black Forest. There she met a flustered back dog, who looked very nervous. The pair went deeper into the forest, before they changed back to normal. “What happened? Why was Filch out and about?”

“Eh…well…I tried to make the Lady in the portrait tell me the password, but…uh…she wouldn’t tell me, and I got a bit…short tempered…” Sirius said nervously, shrinking under Clara’s glare. “I…uh…attacked the portrait.”

“Oh, well congratulations!” Clara said sarcastically. “You receive the prize of the idiot of the century!” she took a deep breath. “Well, whatever. I got my wand. Phineas Black told me that your whole family has died; he said that it’s only Narcissa, Bellatrix and you left.” Clara told Sirius.

Sirius’ expression was unreadable. “Good ridden of bad trash.” He said gruffly. “What we need to do now is to get the password to Gryffindor.” 

“Ugh…If I didn’t love you so much, I would’ve abandoned you ever since I heard you were place in Azkaban.” Clara sighed. “Being with you is ruining what I could have become, but whatever.”


	9. Harry and the Prisoners of Azkaban (part 1)

For the next few weeks, Clara stayed in the Forbidden Forest, much to her boredom, while Sirius tried to kill Pettigrew. He often came back with a ginger cat named Crookshanks, and they talked about strategies on how to get to the damned rat, which normally consisted on Clara staying in the Forbidden Forest. That didn’t really bother her, but what did bother her, is that Sirius even went to watch Harry play Quidditch and sent him a Firebolt for Christmas. Also, just sitting about being useless wasn’t in Clara’s nature.

“Why can’t I come with you?” Clara asked Sirius in an irritated voice. 

“Because Filch already saw you.” Sirius answered. “And we can’t take any chances.”

“Take what chances? The Lady in the portrait saw you too!” Clara retorted. Sirius sighed, and didn’t answer. “Hmph, whatever. So, what’s your next move?”

“Crookshanks gave me a piece of paper with all the passwords to get into Gryffindor. He stole it from one of the boys in Harry’s year.” Sirius answered gruffly. “It’ll give us a chance to get the stupid rat.”

Clara sighed impatiently. “And do I get to do anything?” 

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are so eager to come with me?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m bored out of my mind, or that I hate having to worry like a mother that’s just seen her son go to war.” Clara answered roughly, glaring. Sirius flinched and gave a tense smile.

“I’m sorry…but those aren’t the only reasons, right? What else is bothering you?” Sirius asked worriedly. Clara tensed.

“N-Noth-…” she saw Sirius’ unconvinced expression. “OK…fine. I want to see Severus and Lucius’ son, Draco.” Sirius stared at her, and frowned.

“Why would you want to see Snivellus and that Death Eater’s son?” he growled lowly. Clara hissed at him, very cat like.

“Don’t. Call. Him. That. And I want to see them because: Number 1, SEVERUS is my friend, number 2 because I happen to still love Lucius like a big brother, and number 3, I just want to see how Draco’s grown up. But I also want to see my godsons, Fred and George.”

Sirius and Clara glared at each other. “I understand why you want to see them, but you can’t. You are a wanted self- imposed criminal, and I’m a wanted mistaken criminal, so if we’re both together, things are gonna get ugly, and that’s that.” He said dismissively, which made Clara’s temper rise, but said nothing.

~

Clara cringed at the wanted posters of Sirius and herself in Hogsmeade. Seriously, Sirius didn’t look anything like that maniac in the posters, and she did not look like a psychopathic killer, even though she kinda made that face to make Lucius and Narcissa safe, but still! Clara sighed, and trotted around in her panther form, trying to find some food for herself, while Sirius looked for food to eat for himself. It was easier this way, and they could corner food, aka mice or something like, easily. Clara remembered the delicious ice cream and treacle tarts she loved so much and had eaten in Hogwarts, making her drool. Her stomach rumble loudly, and she shook the thought of food out of her head as she noticed a rather meaty mouse.

~

“I’m sooooooooo borrrrrrrreeeeeeeed….” Clara whined. She wanted to do something useful. Sirius had been seen again, this time by Ron himself. The idiot was now walking about the grounds with Crookshanks. Clara had hidden away deep in the forest, where the centaurs lived, and they were OK with letting her hide there. It was better than being with giant spiders, Clara thought, shuddering at the thought of Aragon and his descendants. In all honesty, Clara wanted to watch the Hogwarts students have their Care of Magical Creatures lessons, for she knew by scent that Harry was among them, and she also wanted to see Hagrid. She sighed irritably. What a bore…

“Clara?” Sirius’ voice was heard, a short way off. Clara made a bored whistling sound. Sirius came in view and looked thoroughly worned out. 

“What happened to you?” Clara asked suspiciously, but in a bored tone.

“Nothing, I just ran back here to tell you that tonight is when we’re gonna get Pettigrew.” Sirius informed, catching Clara’s attention immediately. “Here’s the plan. Tonight, Hagrid’s Hippogriff, Buckbeak, is going to be executed and I overhead Harry talking to Ron and a girl about visiting Hagrid before the execution. Thing is, Pettigrew is hiding in Hagrid’s hut, and maybe Hagrid’ll notice and give it to Ron, so we’ll be able to ambush them and get the rat!”

Sirius explained clearly, Clara nodding a few times. “OK, so we’re basing this entire plan on chance? Not like we can do anything else though, so let’s try.” 

~

A panther roamed round Hagrid’s cottage at a safe distance, while a large black dog was standing under the darkness of the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Clara noticed that Hagrid opened his door, and understood quickly that Harry and his friends had used his father’s cloak. After a few minutes, Clara noticed three other figures. She flattened herself into the shadows, and saw it was Dumbledore, the Minister of magic (she had seen him in some of the trashed Daily Prophets) and a man which she knew she had seen before, and was carrying a large axe. Clara eyed the movements of the three men, and looked back to Hagrid’s cottage. Ron seemed to have found his rat, and was now being ushered under the invisibility cloak with Harry and the girl by Hagrid. As soon as they had disappeared, the three newcomers knocked on the door, to be greeted with a flustered and upset Hagrid.

Clara wanted to help the poor Hippogriff, but knew that she had to keep to the plan. When the large axe went downwards unto the creature, Clara looked away. She saw the bushy haired girl and she also looked upset. Then there was a yelp of pain. The hunt had started. Pettigrew had just bitten Ron, who ran after him, followed by Harry and the girl. Clara rushed to the direction she knew Peter would take, and hid behind the Whomping Willow. Ron caught the rat, and before Harry could get close to him, Clara pounced unto Ron, who yelled in fright. Clara snarled and growled at him, looking warningly at Harry and his other friend, who also seemed terrified.

“Who are you?!” Harry demanded. 

‘He sounds a lot like James…’ Clara thought, but also roared at him. She saw Sirius behind them, and he barked, catching the children’s attention.

Harry seemed petrified, and before he could react, Ron was being dragged into the opening in the Whomping Willow.

As they made their way to the Shrieking Shack, like they had planned, Ron was fighting fiercely against the grip Sirius had on him, while Clara tried to get the squeaking rat from Ron’s hands, but he was holding it too tightly for Clara to reach the bloody creature.

As they entered the Shrieking Shack, Sirius threw Ron unto the bed, and that was when Clara realised that Ron’s leg was in a terrible shape.

‘Probably happened when he tried to stop us dragging him into the Whomping Willow.’ Clara thought worriedly. She looked to Sirius, who nodded, and Clara changed into her human form.

“Y-You’re an Animagus?! Wait, you’re Clara, one of the prisoners that escaped Azkaban!” Ron freaked out. 

“Please calm down, Ron.” Clara asked gently.

“Calm down?! Whaddya mean, ‘Calm down’?! And how do you know my name?!” Ron demanded, extremely frightened.

“Clara, they’re coming.” Sirius had changed back into his normal form, which made Ron gasped in terror. Sirius looked even more worn out after Ron mentioned Azkaban, and looked extremely grumpy.

‘Seriously…’ Clara sighed mentally. She hid behind the bed curtains, which hid her completely. Harry and the girl came bursting in.

“Ron!” the girl cried, and gasped when she realised Ron’s leg was broken. 

“It’s a trap, Hermione! Harry get outta here!” Ron warned them, still holding on to the squirming Pettigrew. 

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, perplexed.

“They’re animagi!” Ron cried out, pointing to where Sirius had been standing in the shadows.

“Sirius Black!” the girl named Hermione screamed, and she took out her wand quickly, but Clara was quicker.

“Expelliarmus!” She said, and caught the wand. Harry and Hermione turned round quickly to Clara, who wasn’t pointing her wand to them. “Calm down, all of you, we’re not going to hurt you.”

“Not hurt us?! You’re joking right?!” Harry yelled, and Clara saw why. The Whomping Willow had done its job, and given both kids cuts and bruises. The ginger cat Crookshanks trotted in casually, and rubbed it’s head against Clara’s leg. 

“OK, maybe you did get hurt, but listen-” Clara started.

“I’m not listening to anybody who works with the man who betrayed my parents!” Harry yelled, and quicker than Clara could react, the wands she was holding flew out of her hands. Harry pointed his wand menacingly to Sirius.

“You’re gonna kill me, eh? I’m completely vulnerable, even though you have no idea what happened.” Sirius said darkly. 

“I don’t care for you reasons! But I still know you’re the reason my parents died!” Harry yelled angrily. Clara understood that he had been taught what everybody believed about Sirius. 

“No! You’ve got it wrong!” Clara screamed, but before Harry could say a spell, Crookshanks was attacking Harry enough to make him cry out in pain. Hermione called out to the cat to stop attacking Harry, until the cat was thrown to the floor by a very angry Harry, who pointed his wand to Sirius again.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry’s wand flew out of his hand, and cluttered unto the floor, while all eyes went to the newcomer.

“You’re…Remus!” Clara said, highly relieved. Remus looked at Clara, then at Sirius. Sirius looked sadly at his old friend, but when Remus approached him, and hugged his old friend tightly, his eyes lightened up a fraction.

“What’s the meaning of this? After I covered up for you!” Hermione cried out, shocked and angry. Remus turned to her, and looked to Clara, who hadn’t moved.

“Hermione, you don’t understand.” He said calmly, as he had always been.

“What do you mean, covered up for him?” Ron asked, his voice shaking.

“He’s a werewolf!” Clara answered furiously, which made Ron look at Remus in fear and repulsion. Harry didn’t seemed to care if Remus was a werewolf or not. 

“You helped him in, didn’t you?” Harry growled. 

“No, Harry, that’s not what happened.” Remus shook his head. 

“That is exactly what happened.” Said a cold voice, which struck Clara’s senses to their full attention. Severus came in slowly, his hand pointed at Sirius and Remus. “I’ve heard enough to get you two into Azkaban.” He said, sneering. Clara frowned.

“Severus! Stop it!” Clara scorned angrily. Severus looked, shocked at her. Harry seemed to have lost all ability of speech. 

“Clara, it’s been a long time.” Severus said, as cold as ever, and Clara could do so much to stop herself hugging Severus again. She had seriously missed her old friend.

“Severus, lower your wand.” Clara ordered, looking into her friend’s black irises. Severus gave a small triumphant smiled.

“Now, that isn’t acceptable. These two have gone against the law, and Azkaban is where they’ll go.” He answered coldly. The three children didn’t seem to understand why Clara wasn’t going to join them into Azkaban too, but their confused looks where ignored. 

“Don’t tell me you still have a grudge from that time. Severus, just drop it already, it’s been too long for anyone to care about it anymore.” Clara said, a note of desperate begging in her voice. Severus sneered again, but before he could answer-

“Stupefy!” Harry had retrieved his wand, and Snape was sent flying backwards. Clara flinched, while Hermione gasped.

“Harry, you attacked a teacher! You could get expelled for that!” she said in pure disbelief.

“I don’t care! I want to know what happened!” Harry demanded to the three conscious grow ups.

“It’s true, you have a right to know.” Remus said, even though Sirius was looking impatient.

So everything was explained. Remus’ relationship with Sirius and Clara, their time during Hogwarts, how Clara had been under the Controlling Curse, Pettigrew betraying the Potters and being able to but the blame on Sirius and go into hiding. They also explained why Clara had been put into Azkaban, and Harry looked at Clara as if she had just killed someone in front of him, not believing it had been possible for somebody to care about any of the Malfoys. Clara then explained briefly how they escaped Azkaban, and what they did after that.

“And Sirius and I infiltrated into Hogwarts, because we need to get a certain somebody.” Clara hissed, glaring at the rat in Ron’s hands.

“M-Me?” Ron exclaimed in fear.

“No, you idiot, that damned creature in your hands!” Sirius growled loudly, scaring the three children. “That’s Pettigrew!”

Ron looked at the squirming and twisting creature in his hands. “It’s not! It’s Scabbers! Scabbers has been in our family for-”

“Thirteen, twelve years?” Sirius said, louder. Ron closed his mouth, and Clara knew Sirius was right. “Give the rat, Weasley!” Ron hesitated, but let go of the creature with a yelp, because he had gotten bitten again.

Remus quickly pointed his wand to the rat, and Clara didn’t hear what he said, but just felt the anger inside her flourishing once more. In front of them all, was the beady-eyed Peter Pettigrew.

“Nice of you to show your form, Peter.” Clara hissed, approaching him quickly, and grabbing him by the front of his clothes. The short man whimpered in fright as Clara’s hazel eyes burnt with anger. “It didn’t stop you, did it? When I yelled at you to stop, it didn’t stop you betraying them, did it, you worthless coward!?” Clara yelled angrily, pulling Pettigrew up so they were face to face, but Pettigrew was lifted off the ground as she held him by his clothes, and his started choking.

“Clara, I think it’s your turn to calm down.” Remus said, barely managing to stop her killing the Animagus. She glared at the short man who coughed.

“I think strangling him is a very good idea.” Sirius commented, taking a menacing step towards Pettigrew, who scurried backwards, but stiffened when Harry’s wand was pointed at him.

“No…don’t kill him. He can go to Azkaban instead; he’ll suffer more there, and he’ll pay back for all those years you’ve spent in Azkaban as an innocent man.” He said seriously. Clara felt like she was having a deja-vu, reminding her of when James had had that very expression when he had told Remus, Sirius and Clara that he wanted to marry Lily.

“Oh, thank you, Harry Potter, thank you.” Pettigrew thanked repeatedly, trying to approach Harry.

“Don’t touch me.” Harry said, making the short man stay still, the wand still pointed at his face. “You’re coming with us to Professor Dumbledore, and we’ll explain everything, then you’ll be sent to Azkaban.”

~

Hermione sheepishly handed Clara’s wand back to her as they left the Shrieking Shack back into the tunnel. Sirius was making the unconscious Snape hover in the air, and obviously didn’t care if Snape was hitting his head on the ceiling because of his carelessness. 

“Sirius, please, can you at least look where you leading Severus?” Clara demanded more than asked.

“Nah…” Sirius replied, receiving a glare. “Come on, he’s unconscious.”

“Still…” Clara pouted. Ron was being supported by Harry and Hermione, while Clara and Remus had Pettigrew tied by golden chain like strings sprouting from their wands.

“You know, now that I think about it, you have the last kind of personality that a criminal would have.” Ron said, addressing Clara, who beamed back at him.

“Aw, thanks Ron, I’ll take that as a compliment~” she half cooed. “Ya know, last time I saw you, you were just a year old. I really feel old when I see the new generation grow up like this. Plus, I bet you anything you’ll be growing taller at the speed of light. Your father was like that. One second I was taller than him even though he’s older than me, next, he’s twice me height.” Clara said, remembering Arthur.

“Still talk like there’s no tomorrow. Guess that’ll never change.” Remus said, making Sirius snicker.

“Shudup Lupin…But Ron, how are Fred and George?” Clara asked eagerly wanting to know about her godsons.

“Fine, they’re complete pranksters, and they tease me a lot. They’re really smart, but they only bother with their pranks and don’t do so well in lessons because they can’t be bothered.” Ron replied. Clara laughed loudly, her laugh echoing through the tunnel.

“They sound like a pair of trouble-makers, much like three other people I know.” Clara said, glaring at Wormtail, who seemed to shrink into himself, then gave a meaningful look to Sirius and Lupin, whose eyes both showed amusement.

Harry was staring at Sirius and Clara. “So you knew my father?”

“Yeah, we used to be best friends, like we explained earlier.” Severus answered gently. “Except for Clara, she only became friends with us in fifth year.”

“Not like I had a choice, did I?” Clara murmured. Remus let out a quiet chuckle, which was not missed by the three children, who gave him questioning looks. 

“OK…and are you really my godfather?” Harry asked Sirius, the young teenager seeming desperate to know the answer. Sirius’ face tendered and he looked gently at Harry, and nodded. Harry’s eyes seemed to light up, and Clara suddenly had the image of Lily. She lowered her head. Ron was the next to ask a question.

“Why are you so interested in George and Fred anyway?” he asked. Clara looked at him, and grinned.

“I’m their godmother.” Clara announced. Ron gaped, and Hermione and Harry almost dropped him by surprise.

“S-Seriously?” Hermione asked. Clara nodded, but didn’t say anything else, for they were arriving at the end of the tunnel. She urged Wormtail out, following him. She saw Sirius and Harry follow next, but they moved a little away from the group, and Sirius seemed to be talking to him. Hermione was supporting Ron, who told her to put him down. Severus had been dropped back on the floor, much to Clara’s indignity. Lupin came out last, followed shortly by the forgotten Crookshanks. However, Clara got shivers down her back; a wrong kind of shiver. Sub consciously, she looked upwards, and dread flooded her. 

“Remus! Go back in the tunnel, now!” Clara yelled, to Remus, who looked at her with frightened eyes. Too late. The full moon showered Remus completely as he double over moaning in pain. “No! Sirius! Remus is…!” Clara couldn’t finish her sentence, for an incredible force smashed her into the Whomping Willow. The air was knocked out of her lungs, and she gasped for breath. Hermione let out a terrified scream, and a loud spine-chilling howl was heard. The werewolf turned to Hermione and Ron, and just before it could strike them, a large black dog bit its neck. The werewolf howled in pain, and an all-out brawl started. The three children were lost and scared while Clara tried to catch her breath back. The world swam in front of her eyes, and she was just able to see Wormtail disappear into the shrubs as a rat.

“Y-You two…” she said breathlessly, talking to Harry and Hermione, because Ron couldn’t move anyway. “Don’t get close to Remus.” 

She stood up, shakily, just in time to see Sirius being thrown into the bushes, and Remus turning towards them, his fangs bearing at them dangerously. Clara turned into her Animagus form, and pounced unto the werewolf, digging her claws into his back as she landed on him, then sprinted into the forest, hearing Remus chasing after her.

‘Good, now they’ll be safe for the moment.’ She thought, sprinting deeper and deeper into the forest. ‘I’ve just got to keep Remus away from them till sunrise.’ She stopped when she felt they were far away enough, and she turned to Remus. He snarled at her, and she hissed back. 

During the rest of the night till sunrise, the two creatures fought and wounded each other.


	10. Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Azkaban (part 2)

Morning came, and by then, Clara was at the end of her strength. Remus slowly changed back into a human, very nearly naked. Clara blushed madly and looked away. She took a large leaf and transfigured it into a cloak. She quickly wrapped it around Remus, hoping he’d be OK. As soon as the cloak was on Remus, she sighed in relief, and fell backwards, sitting on the ground.

“Idiot...” Clara pouted wearily. Remus was panting lightly. Clara had tried to give him as little wounds as possible, herself avoiding them all, cause in all honesty, becoming a werewolf Animagus didn’t sound appealing at all. 

“I-I’m sorry…” Remus said tiredly, wobbling to stand up, wrapping the cloak around him tightly. He offered his hand to Clara, who took it, and pulled her up. “I should’ve been more careful. Because of me, Wormtail escaped.”

Clara stared flatly at him. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about Sirius. Who knows what’s happened to him!” 

Remus seemed to remember that Sirius had also been with Clara. “But he can look after himself. Harry was with him, so he’ll be OK. Come on, we’ve gotta go back inside and get you cleaned up. The pupils shouldn’t have woken up yet.” Clara said, pulling Remus by the wrist towards the school.

As they entered it, Clara turned into her Animagus form again, smelling every corner for a pupil or teacher. They were able to reach Remus’ office without meeting anybody, and Clara waited outside for Remus as he changed. He then let her in quickly. Clara trotted in and turned back into a human. “Much better.” She nodded as she saw Remus fully clothed and patched up. Remus gave a weak smile, but looked upset. “Moony? What’s wrong?”

Remus jolted at the nickname. “I was such a burden to you…I’m sorry.”

Clara smiled and hugged Remus. “Nah, it’s OK. It reminded me of the first time I met you guys in the forest.”

Remus smiled and hugged her back gently. “What about Sirius?” Clara thought.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to look for Harry and his friends later.”

“We? Don’t you even think about it. When Filch said he had seen a panther, I knew immediately it was you! If he sees you again we’ll both be in trouble.” Remus scorned. Clara pouted. “The doggy eye treatment doesn’t work on me. What we need to do is Dumbledore.”

“And he is here.” Said a calm and gentle voice. Remus and Clara jumped and broke the hug.

“P-Professor!” Clara choked. Dumbledore gave her a scrutinising look. “Oh…eh…sorry…Albus.” He smiled again.

“Good to see you again, Clara. To inform you, Harry potter and Hermione Granger saved Sirius.” Dumbledore said. He then explained that Hermione, using her Time Turner, had been able, with Harry Potter, to save the Hippogriff, Buckbeak, and Sirius Black, who had been caught and imprisoned in one of the towers. Sirius had flew away on Buckbeak to a safe place. “And he told Harry to tell you to go and stay at your parents’ home, and promised to write to you soon.”

Clara nodded. She understood what had happened, and was incredibly grateful to Hermione and Harry. “So…I should go back to my parents’ home, right?” Dumbledore nodded in response. Clara felt happy to see her parents, but wanted to see a few people first. “C…Could I…maybe see a few of the students….?” She asked hesitantly. Dumbledore smiled knowingly. 

“I’m sure they would be OK, since you aren’t actually a criminal. Don’t worry, I’ll just say that you wanted to be with Sirius instead of alone, shall I?” Dumbledore proposed. Clara nodded; they didn’t need to know anything about Lucius and Narcissa. “But first…I believe you need to get washed up.” And Clara blushed out of embarrassment. Her hair was matted, and dirt and wounds covered her skin.

“That’d be a good start...” she murmured.

 

~

Clean. Since, what? Thirteen years? It was a wonderful feeling. Her hair was wavy and silky again, her pale skin was visible and dirt free, and her wounds had been cleaned. She was now wearing some spare robes that Professor McGonagall was very enthusiastic to lend. Everybody who had ever known Clara knew that she was innocent. She’d never kill anyone, and she loved her family and friends too much to ever want to hurt them, so it was with many tears and smiles that all the teachers that remembered her greeted her. She smiled brightly at her, her teeth clean and sparkling, for she had worked on them for a good long hour. 

The only downfall of all of this, was that Snape had accidentally said that Remus was a werewolf, and Remus had locked himself in his office. Clara knew that he was planning to leave Hogwarts, and was saddened by this, and she scorned Severus for it, but he only ignored her.

“Well, now that you are all freshened up, who is it that you wanted to see?” Dumbledore asked Clara, all the teachers having gone to teach their lessons. 

“I...I was thinking…all of the Weasley children at the school who I haven’t seen yet, Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy.” Clara replied hesitantly, once more. “But, oh…won’t they believe I am a criminal?”

“Do not worry, I have informed the Ministry. They will arrive here tomorrow for an interrogation, and you will tell them that all you wanted to do was join Sirius, you understand?” Dumbledore instructed, in a very serious voice. Clara nodded sheepishly. “Good, then I will make sure to fetch the children requested, now in fact.” Having said this, he left the staff room, telling Clara to go to his office.

Clara went into the Dumbledore’s office, and waited anxiously. Did Neville look like his mother, or his father? What was Draco like? Where Fred and George really such daredevils? Was the only daughter of the Weasley family like Molly? Were any of the other Weasleys boys still in Hogwarts? As Clara was thinking these questions, she jumped when the door opened. She spun round, and saw Dumbledore walking in, followed by a very stiff looking ginger boy, two tall ginger twins, a little girl with long ginger hair, a boy with a plump face looking nervous, and a boy with white-blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Clara couldn’t say anything. She realised just how much she had missed during her years in Azkaban, and it took all of her will to not hug them all. 

“Well, I leave you alone, tell me when you are ready go back to your lessons.” Dumbledore said, closing the door behind him. All the students looked at Clara suspiciously, especially the little girl. But Clara only grinned back.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen all of you!” She chimed happily. “Except you. You weren’t born yet, what’s your name?” she addressed the girl, who looked taken back from the happy grin. 

“G-Ginny Weasley.” She said. 

“Should’ve known, your gingerness makes that pretty obvious.” Clara joked, gaining a small smile from the girl. “Alright, then…I’ve gotta make out who is who now.” She looked at the boys. The twins were looking eagerly, the oldest looking ginger boy’s face was as stoic as stoic could be, the plump boy was fidgeting nervously, and the white blonde haired boy was looking bored. Clara pointed to the oldest looking boy, and he jolted. “Perceval Ignatius Weasley! Also named Percy!” Clara exclaimed. 

Percy looked a little taken back, but nodded. “Yeah, you’ve grown alright…taller than me too…” Clara pouted. “Last time I saw you, you were being all shy…but then again you were something like five or six.” Percy’s cheeks flushed a little red, while the twins sniggered. “Don’t get me started on you two, Fred and George Weasley! I held you two in my arms as new-borns!”

It was the twins’ turn to blush. Clara grinned. “I remember, you guys used to call me Auntie. You were so cute then…” Clara teased a little. The twins gave embarrassed smiles. “But I am also your godmother, so I’ll be expecting you two to listen to me, OK?” The twins opened their mouths wide in disbelief. “Yup, I am your godmother~” Clara grinned widely. She left the gobsmacked twins to turn to Ginny. “It’s true, you really do look like your mother. You’ve got the same air of bossiness and authority around you as Molly does.” The girl grinned widely, obviously proud at the last statement.

Clara then looked to the plump boy. “Oh my…you really do look like Alice, Neville…” Clara said, feeling very nostalgic. He looked very much like his mother, and had the same type of shyness as his father. “Last time I saw you…let see, yeah, you were still a baby.” Neville gave her a shy smile, and looked at his feet in sheer embarrassment. The paled eyed boy sniggered.

“Uhum, Draco Lucius Malfoy, I was there when you were born, and before I went to Azkaban, you were also a toddler.” It was the pale boy’s turned to flush a bright red. “I seriously hope Lucius brought you up properly, otherwise I’m gonna have a word with him, you can tell him that when you go home, ‘kay?” Clara grinned, looking Draco up and down for any sign of mistreatment. “But you really do look a lot like your father, that’s for sure.”

Clara looked at the all the students, smiling brightly at them all. “Hah…you growing up like this really does make me feel old.” She sighed.

“H-Hey, um…” Percy stuttered. Clara looked at him, and smiled brightly.

“Just call me Clara.” She instructed.

“Um…Clara, we were told you went to Azkaban because you wanted to be with Sirius Black…why?” He asked hesitantly. Clara stared at him.

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s my lover, Perce.” She grinned, using Percy’s nickname. 

“Eh? How can you love a murderer?” one of the twins asked. Clara couldn’t figure out which of the twins he was.

“Are you Fred, or George? Fred? OK, cool. Well…let’s see…I’ve known Sirius since I was eleven, and I just don’t believe he did any of that stuff. You see, I was under the controlling curse, and…I got to see things I didn’t like; so I’m convinced Sirius didn’t kill all those people, especially not Wormtail!” Clara said, sounding very confident and stubborn. The twins looked at her, and sniggered. “What?”

“Well…we just imagined that you were going to be a little different from how you are now, having been in Azkaban and all.” The other twins replied, receiving an angry hiss from Percy. But Clara only grinned and laughed.

“Ask Molly and Arthur, and they’ll tell you things about me you wouldn’t think possible!” she laughed. 

They all had a bit of a chit chat, especially with the twins. Soon, though, they needed to go, but Clara asked Draco to stay behind for a second. He stared at her, and she stared back. “What? Are you going to say anything?” he drawled, ever so Lucius like. Clara was trembling.

“ARGH! I CAN’T STAND IT ANYMORE!” she proclaimed loudly, and hugged Draco tightly, suffocating him a little.

“Mmphf! C-can’t breathe…!” he said in a muffled voice. Clara let go of him, and grinned sheepishly. “W-What was that about?” he asked, trying to get his breath back. 

“Sorry, sorry! But…” she smiled tenderly. “I’m just so glad. You look so much like Lucius, yet you have a sort of Narcissa feeling around you, it’s a good mix. Also, I’m just so happy you’re well, you are after all, reason why I went to Azkaban.”

Draco gaped. “What? But I thought…”

“That’s just a story that Dumbledore made up. The real reason was that your parents were going to be sent to Azkaban, and I didn’t want that to happen. Firstly, there were already two children with no parents, Harry and Neville, and I thought that a third was unnecessary, secondly, I wanted you to be brought up by your parents, not some aunt and uncle, thirdly, I didn’t want you to be known as ‘the kid with his parents in Azkaban’, and fourthly, I used to look up to Lucius and Narcissa…” Clara said, her voice getting to a mere whisper. “They were my closest and most important friends, as well as others, and I didn’t want anything to happen to them…” Clara said, smiling at Draco, who looked at her in a mix between not understanding her, disbelief and awe. She grinned at him, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Say ‘hi’ to Lucius and Narcissa for me.” 

Draco nodded slowly, walking out of the room, as if in a daze. Clara felt so happy right now. 

~  
When the Aurors came to interview Clara, she just said what Dumbledore had told her to do, and, most of them knowing Clara well, accepted this, and Clara’s ‘Death Eater’ record was cleared. Clara was so happy, and Dumbledore announced this to the whole of Hogwarts, who looked disbelieving at Clara, who grinned back. She sat next to Snape, and talked animatedly to him, like the good old times, Snape only answering with a nod, or a grunt, while Clara blabbed on about something random.

“Ah~ I’ve missed Hogwarts’ chocolate ice cream!” she declared happily to Snape, who only answered with a grunt, and decided to glare at Harry. Clara sighed. “I thought I asked you not to hate him too much.”

“I know. If you hadn’t asked me to not hate him too much, he’d be in detention every night, and Gryffindor would have no house points.” He said back, and Clara sighed.

“Man, cold as ever aren’t you?” Clara muttered.

“As in love with food as ever, I see.” Severus answered dryly, while Clara was eating her ice cream.

“Shudup…you’d feel like this too if you had just spent the last twelve or so years in Azkaban. Even if I did make myself go there; but still!” Clara replied between mouthfuls. “But now that my name was cleared, I dunno what I’m gonna do…I mean, I wanna continue being an Auror, but I also want to stay here and watch the kids grow…but there won’t be any places here for me, so I’ll guess I’ll just become an Auror again.” 

“Hm, well there will be the Defence against the Dark Arts position.” Severus said, in a somewhat cocky voice. Clara scowled. 

“Keep on saying those things and I’ll hex your office.” She scorned, wiping away the cocky aura around Severus immediately. He scowled back, but said nothing. After the meal, Clara stayed with Severus, greeting the few students she knew. She followed Severus into the Slytherin house. “Wow, it’s been a while, but nothing’s changed. I’m surprised.” Clara commented, while several Slytherin first years rushed to her, and started asking her several questions, which she answered happily. Severus had disappeared into the boys’ dormitory, but Clara was too busy to notice. All the Slytherin first years wanted to know about Azkaban, about Sirius and about Clara herself, and Clara answered as truthfully as she could.

When all of the first years went to bed, Clara looked at the inside of the lake, noticing a dark shadow, which she knew was the Giant Squid. “Hello, pal, remember me?” Clara whispered to the shadow, she came nearer, and seemed to wave at her with one of its’ tentacles. Clara grinned. 

“Um…uhum.” Clara jumped, spinning round in surprised, but smiled gently when she saw Draco. “I…I wrote to my father about our meeting…and he also read the Daily Prophet who published your interrogation, and he wants to meet up with during my holidays. He told me to ask you if you were to accept his invitation.” He took a deep breath. “Would you be willing to come to our manor for a couple of days? You can come whenever you want.”

Clara took some time to register those words, before she squealed happily. “‘Course I’ll come! Tell Lucius I’ll come a few days after I’ve visited my parents, ‘kay?” she grinned happily. “Oh, and you don’t need to be so formal with me, Draco.”

The white-blond headed boy nodded, a small smile forming on his lips.

~

“Don’t worry, Harry, Padfoot will be fine! I’m sure he’ll write to you soon!” Clara reassured Harry. “I’ll come visit you during the holidays, OK? I’ll be visiting you too Ron! And Hermione, we’ll keep contact while you travel, yes? Great!” she grinned at them all. “Well, see you! I won’t be staying on Hogwarts, but I’m sure I’ll meet you guys at some point!” 

The three of them smiled brightly and nodded. “Bye Clara!” Harry said from the train window as it started to move. Clara waved back happily to him and the others. She then caught a glimpse of Ginny and Neville, waved at them too, and then grinned, and gave thumbs up to the Weasley twins and their friend, Lee Jordan, who returned it with interest. She also saw Draco and winked; the latter nodding at her in recognition. 

She joined Hagrid, who was making his way back to the castle. “It’s nice to be back.” She said to Hagrid.

“It’s good ta have ya back, Clara.” Hagrid answered, grinning brightly. They were met half way by Dumbledore.

“Hello, Hagrid, hello Clara. I’m here to take you back home, Clara.” Dumbledore smiled gently. Clara grinned nodding.

She said farewell to Hagrid, and, being just outside of school bounds, they Disapparated to Clara’s home. Then second she arrived, arms where wrapped around her. “Mum!” she exclaimed, as the woman sobbed.

“You silly, silly girl!” she said, her voice hoarse with tears, but sounding happy. Clara hugged her mother back, who was a good couple of inches shorter than her now, and she looked up to her dad. He had gained a few more grey hairs in the last thirteen years, but otherwise, looked identical to before. She smiled at him, and he winked back, greeting Dumbledore. When Clara’s mother finally let go of her, she was dragged into the living room, where Zwinky was waiting for her.

“Y-Young mistress!” she cried out, tears rolling from her large eyes. Clara smiled, and hugged the house elf. 

The rest of that evening was the best evening Clara had ever experienced, being with her parents, all her beautiful memories returning to her.

She couldn’t wait to see Lucius and Narcissa.


	11. Long time no see

Clara apparated in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor. It hadn’t really changed since last time Clara visited it, but it was a little more decorated. She walked up to the gates, where some chains were holding them together. The gate and chains did a weird movement, and a voice spoke. “What is your purpose?!”

“I’m Clara de Rambures. I’ve come to visit Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.” Clara answered calmly. The chains disappeared and the gates swung open. She walked past them and up to the main building. Before she could knock on the Manor’s doors, the door was opened by Narcissa herself, and Clara soon found herself hugged tightly. Clara smiled, and hugged her dear friend back. Finally, Narcissa let go of her, and lead her into the living room, where Lucius was waiting. Draco wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“Clara…it’s been a while…” Lucius said quietly, looking a little out of place; Clara simply walked up to him and punched him in the stomach. Lucius doubled over a little, tears prickling his eyes from the pain.

“That was for keeping me under the Controlling Curse.” She said meanly. But then her look softened, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Lucius sighed lightly, and hugged her back. Clara pulled away, grinning. “But seriously, mate, if it weren’t for both of ya, I’d probably be insane by now.” Lucius looked a little confused, and Clara showed the necklace she was wearing; a silver white tear drop shaped locket, with the initials ‘C.d.R’ engraved in green written on it. Lucius’ eyes widened, and his head drooped.

“…I apologize…” he said sadly, but Clara only laughed, and hugged him again. She smiled to Narcissa, and brought her into the hug too.

“Ha, I’ve already forgave you guys a long time ago! I’m just glad you kept you promise and that Draco is well!” She chimed happily, as Lucius and Narcissa smiled lightly at her. “Speaking of Draco, where is he?” 

“In his room, I’ll fetch him.” Narcissa said, walking to get Draco. Lucius motioned Clara to sit, and poured her tea. A few seconds later, Draco came in, looking a little nervous.

Clara grinned at him happily and he relaxed. He sat next to her, while Lucius and Narcissa sat opposite them. “So!” Clara said. “What has happened in the last few years?!”

Clara spent the rest of the day at the Malfoys’, catching up, and remembering the past. In the evening, Clara said she needed to leave, and was being seen off by the Malfoys.

“Do visit again soon, Clara.” Lucius said; his wife and son nodding in agreement. Clara smiled cheerfully at them.

“I will, don’t you worry!” she answered, walking down to the gates and Disapparating. 

Back at home, her parents had just sat down for supper, and Clara joined them. They talked about the Malfoys, but Clara quickly went to bed, for she was tired. As she entered her room, her aged cat, Marie, stretched and purred at her. Brownie, the old brown barn owl, hooted at her from his cage, and Clara let him out. She got ready for bed, and as she settled in, Marie jumped unto the bed and curled up into a ball next to Clara. The latter stroked and patted her until she fell asleep, the thoughts of Sirius, Lucius, Narcissa and especially Draco in her mind.


	12. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire part 1

Clara smiled happily as a very skinny and strict looking woman opened the door. Clara was wearing jeans with trainers, and a simple black button up shirt with her hair tied up in a ponytail.

“Hello, my name is Clara de Rambures, and I am a friend’s of Harry’s. You must be Petunia Dursley; it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Clara chimed happily. The woman looked very shocked.

“A-Are you a-a-a-a-a…” she stuttered. Clara looked innocently at her.

“Oh, you mean a witch? Yes, I am indeed.” Clara answered just as happily as before. Petunia looked like she had been slapped, but Clara kept on smiling. 

“C-C-C-Come in.” she stuttered, holding her nose high in the air. Clara followed her into the house, thinking how different Petunia was from Lily. The house was spotless, and Clara felt sorry for Harry almost immediately. “Vernon.” Petunia called. She entered the kitchen, and Clara saw the largest man she had ever set eyes on; he was even fatter than Professor Slughorn, which was something to achieve. She smiled to the man, which she imagined was Petunia’s husband. 

“Hm, who is this?” He asked, standing up to meet the new person. Petunia whispered to him and his face paled. “Y-You’re…one of those?” he asked, almost threateningly. Clara felt a little annoyed, but nodded. Vernon cleared his throat, and brought himself to full height. “And may I ask what you are doing here?” 

“Visiting Harry, actually. I promised I’d visit him during the holidays.” Clara explained, smiling still. 

“H-He told the address?” Petunia squeaked.

“No, no, not at all. I found it out on my own.” Clara answered, smiling still. Vernon frowned, but said no more. He walked past Clara, and walked to the stairs.

“Boy! Come downstairs!” He called up, and Clara felt a pang of annoyance in her stomach, which wasn’t a very good sign. Vernon walked back into the room, and through the door, Clara caught a glimpse of an equally fat boy, who was watching TV in the living room. Harry came down the stairs, looking annoyed. His hair was as messy as messy could be, and his green eyes were filled with bored. When he saw Clara however, he beamed. 

“Heya Harry! How’ve you been doing?” Clara greeted. Harry grinned back. Vernon and Petunia looked a little unnerved. 

“Alright, thanks.” He answered. 

“Good! Anyway, I’ll be taking him off your hands for a couple of hours, if that’s OK?” Clara said to Vernon and Petunia, who only nodded jerkily. “Cool, then Harry, let’s go!” She chimed, pushing Harry towards the door.

When the door closed, Clara let out a huge sigh. “Man, how d’you live with people like that? Don’t you get bored outta your mind?” 

“Yeah, pretty much.” Harry shrugged. “So, where’re we going?” 

“Eh…dunno, just for a walk I guess. I’m not allowed to take you anywhere, Albus said, which I find unfair, but whatever. I can tell you what’s happening in the Wizarding world!” Clara said, and Harry merely smiled and nodded. They walked along a path, and there was a small park up ahead which was completely empty. They made their way there, and sat on the swings. “You know, I’ve always loved swings~! There’s a park in the forest near my house, and the muggle children were always playing on these. I never got to play with them of course, it could’ve been problematic.”

Harry and Clara talked for a while, a bit of what was going on in the Wizarding world, how the Weasleys were, how the Ministry was reacting to Sirius’ disappearance and such.

“I find Sirius’ mail transported by weird birds, don’t you think?” Clara laughed, and Harry laughed too agreeing.

“Clara, can you tell me about your time at school?” Harry asked, and Clara looked at him, and nodded.

“Sure, whaddya wanna know?” 

“Um…Which house were you in?” 

“Slytherin.” Clara noticed Harry’s shocked look. “Though I did choose to be in Slytherin. The Sorting Hat wanted me to be in Gryffindor, but at the time, I used to look up to Lucius Malfoy. He was a prefect at the time, and I really wanted to be with him.”

“Lucius Malfoy? Why on earth do you like him?” Harry asked, completely surprised. Clara laughed.

“Lucius is a sweetheart when you get to know him. He’s like a big brother for me.” Clara said. Harry raised his eyebrows, but didn’t press on the subject. 

“OK…What about Snape? What was he like at the time?” Harry asked. 

“Severus? I thought you hated him?”

“I do, but I still want to know.”

“Heh, well, he was pretty much the same as he is now, but thing is, he’s a kind person, and cares very much for the people who dare get to know him. Slytherins in general are thought to be cold and horrible, but are like their mascot, snakes: Sly, cunning, and easily misunderstood.” 

“Eh? But…” Harry looked a little sceptical. Clara laughed again.

“You sound exactly like how James would’ve reacted!” Clara declared loudly, and Harry beamed at Clara.

“What was my father like?” he asked suddenly. Clara looked up to the sky. 

“Let’s see…he was…well, for one thing, he had a huge ego. He was a show off, and liked attention, and was also a bit of a rebel, so was Sirius; didn’t like either of them at the time honestly. But after Sirius became my boyfriend when I finished my OWLs, I got to know them better, and…I realised that James was a really fun guy to be with. Yes, he still showed off, but was funny, truly funny. You could never be bored with him, that’s for sure.” Clara said. Harry nodded.

“Am I like that?”

“Well, you don’t show off, or ask for the attention; you get it anyway.” Harry snorted. “But you’re amazing at Quidditch, and you are a bit of a rebel; I mean, I saw the Invisibility Cloak, and I can tell you that James broke many rules with that cloak, and I can guess easily that you did the same thing.” Clara chimed, Harry grinning sheepishly. “So, yeah, you’re quite a lot like him. But you have an equal amount of Lilyness in you.”

~

Clara sighed sleepily as she walked into the Ministry. It had been a tiring day. The Quidditch Tournament had taken place, but had been attacked by Death Eaters afterwards, and the Dark Mark had been seen in the sky. Also, Clara had heard that the Goblet of Fire was to be brought to Hogwarts for the Triwizard tournament, which hadn’t taken place in like, what? Hundreds of years? 

Clara was a little annoyed that she hadn’t been chosen to be in Hogwarts for that, but was glad that Mad-Eye Moody was there. She trusted him, and knew they would be OK.

Weeks went by, and Clara became more worried about Harry, for she had heard from the twins, who sent her many letters, that he had been chosen as one of the champions in the Triwizard competition, which worried Clara very much. She also saw the picture of Harry on the Daily Prophet followed by a horrible article, which was completely out of character for Harry. Clara looked at the article in horror, and saw the name Rita Skeeter printed at the top. Clara growled dangerously, and marched off to Rita’s office, where many photographers were.

Clara slammed the door open, shocking many of the interviewers. “Everybody out! OUT!” she yelled, and everybody except for Rita scattered. 

“What is the meaning of this?” She asked indignantly.

“That’s my question! What in the name of Merlin is this?!” Clara answered back, showing her the Daily Prophet with Harry’s picture on it. “What is this nonsense?! You obviously did a fake interview, like you always do! Can’t you write some truth in all of this, and not just stuff you think will please the public?!” 

Rita sneered. “Look here, Clara, I am a writer, and a journalist. I am here to entertain the public, and keep them reading the Prophet. That is all.”

Clara and Skeeter argued for an incredibly long time, until Clara finally marched out of her office, fuming, and spreading her anger throughout the Ministry. The next day, the headlines shocked everybody. ‘Ex-criminal against the Daily Prophet?’ covered the newspapers, much to Clara’s anger, but it was drowned by her anxiousness for Harry to stay safe.

Clara sighed deeply; she had a bad feeling about all of this. She wanted to see Sirius, she thought, pouting a little as she Apparated home. She went into the living room, where the fire place was. She was going through her Auror paperwork, checking for any casualties of Death Eaters, which she suspected worriedly that Lucius had been involved with during the Quidditch Tournament.

“Clara!” Said a voice Clara knew too well. She kneeled to the fireplace, where Sirius’ head had appeared. 

“Sirius!” she said happily. “Hey, how are you doing?” Sirius smiled at her. He looked much better than last time she had seen him.

“I’m fine, you look better, that’s good. Look, I’ll be going to Hogsmeade to visit Harry. He needs help during this tournament.” He said seriously. Clara gasped.

“You can’t! That’s insanity! You’re still a criminal, remember?” Clara said hurriedly. Sirius nodded.

“I know, I know. But I won’t be IN Hogsmeade; I’ll be outside of it, so that Harry, Hermione, Ron and I can have a proper talk without being interrupted and found out. I also want to see you, properly.” Sirius said calmly. Clara looked worried, but smiled all the same. 

“Fine, as long as you’re careful. When are you going to Hogsmeade?”

~

Clara walked to the mountains outside of Hogsmeade, where she knew Sirius had stayed hidden. He had also requested food, which Clara had carried a large bag of different things she knew he liked, and also food for Buckbeak. 

When she entered the cave, she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione there, talking to Sirius. “Hello everyone!” she greeted as she walked in, getting a startled gasp from Hermione. Clara walked to Sirius and plunked the bag in front of him. “Got what you requested. There’s a bag of dead animals for Buckbeak in there too.” 

Sirius smiled in thanks at her, and she sat down next to him. “If you get caught, don’t blame me.” She murmured. 

“I’ll be fine, trust me! Harry was speaking about what he did during the first task.” Sirius said.

Harry said what had happened with the dragon, about the two other schools, about the other three champions and spoke a lot about Mad-eye and Defence against the Dark Arts. 

Clara had to leave, for she needed to go back to the Ministry, and gave Sirius a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. Ron grimaced, while Hermione blushed lightly and Harry just stared while Sirius grinned.

Clara returned to Hogsmeade, and walked towards the centre of the town. 

“BOO!”

“ARGH! Fred! George! You scared me!” she said in pure fright, and hand over her chest. The twins laughed.

“That was what we intended to do!” They chimed in harmony, and Clara pouted. “Lee! Come ‘ere!”

A boy with dread locks jogged up to the twins, and grinned widely at Clara. “Lee! It’s been a while!” Clara said brightly.

“Yeah! S’good to see you Clara.” He greeted. Clara spent the rest of the day with the twins and Lee, Clara telling them about her time in Hogwarts, and having fun in the shops she knew so well, before leaving to the Ministry, hugging both the twins and Lee. 

“It was lovely seeing you three. It’s good that you’re having fun and that you are healthy! Don’t get into too much trouble though.” She winked knowingly at them, and they grinned sheepishly.

Clara waved at them as they headed back to Hogwarts, noticing Draco too, and she smiled brightly at him, and he smiled back.

As she walked away, Clara sighed. ‘Ah, they’re growing so quickly…I feel so old…’


	13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire part 2

Clara opened the letter she had received from the twins. The twins often wrote to her, something Molly complained about; apparently Molly was lucky if she even got a scrap of parchment from the boys per year. Fred and George were Clara’s only source of news from Hogwarts, so Clara was always happy to read what happened there. She had heard from the twins and Sirius that Harry had to fight a dragon, and that he had won by summoning his broomstick with Accio. Clara had laughed at this: Typical Potter thing to do. James would’ve done the exact same thing. 

But Clara was still worried about Harry, because if anything, the second task was going to be much harder. This made Clara extremely anxious, and always desperate for news from the twins. 

This particular day, she had been working with the Minister, for some reason. She had just needed to stand there for sake’s sake, but other than that, nothing. However, she noticed that Percy was doing his best to not make eye-contact with her. This ticked Clara off. 

After the day’s work, she found Percy, and stopped him. “Perce, what’s wrong?” she asked, straining her voice to sound calm. Percy’s eyes narrowed a little, and slapped her hand from his shoulder. Clara just stared in shock. “Percy!”

“Don’t touch me.” He replied in a disgusted manner. Clara frowned, and grabbed but his shoulders. 

“Percy, what’s this about?” she asked angrily. Percy frowned back, struggling to get out of her iron grip.

“The Daily Prophet wrote about you some time ago, remember? I have nothing to do with you sort of people.” He answered back bluntly. Clara gaped.

“My type of people?! My type of people?! What is that supposed to mean?!” Clara said, getting angrier. Percy shrugged her off, more violently.

“You people. Sirius Black, Harry Potter, such sorts; mad and dangerous people.” He answered harshly. Clara was stomped, and just stared in horror. Percy made his way out of the ministry. What? What had happened? Had little shy Percy really said those things to Clara? About Harry? 

Clara grinded her teeth. Now she was angry. Very angry. Last time she had gotten so angry, it was next to the lake, where James had gotten a good slap, Sirius a good kick, Wormtail a good scare and Lupin a good insult. So not a good sign. Clara apparated back home, and wrote angrily and quickly to the twins. She sent Brownie to Hogwarts, even though he was getting a little old and clumsy; last time he delivered a little, he landed in the milk jug. Clara bit her thumb in thought. Things were going strangely, and Clara had a bad feeling…about something.

~

It was a while before Clara got an answer from the twins. The twins explained that Percy was being complicated at home as well, or so Molly said (Clara had preferred to ask the twins about Percy instead of the Weasley parents), and that he had been present at the second task, because Barty Crouch was ill, but that Harry had passed the second task in second place, having saved both Ron and a French girl, who was the little sister of one of the competitors. Again, Clara was relieved, but even more worried. The third task…how was that going to go?

Clara quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind, Apparating quickly to the Ministry. One of her colleague Aurors, Kingsley, hurried to her. “Clara,” he said. “you have an assignment; you are to go to Hogwarts immediately so to supervise the third task of the Triwizard competition.” 

Clara’s eyes widened, but she grinned. “Great! I’ll go immediately!” she said happily, earning a knowing smile from Kingsley. She was going to see Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys again! She quickly apparated just outside the school grounds. There were a few other Aurors who did the same, but she was the one who hurried the quickest to Hogwarts by far. She entered the large doors first, where Hagrid was waiting for them. 

“ ‘Ello Clara!” he greeted.

“Heya Hagrid!” Clara greeted back cheerfully. The Aurors were lead inside, where they met Dumbledore. The wizened man smile warmly to all of them.

“Thank you for coming. I can say I feel a little more reassured now that we have you here, for as I am sure you know, that even with all the securities we have made, there are possible problems, so it is good to know there is extra help.” He said kindly. The Aurors nodded in understanding. They were told their positions quickly, and stationed themselves there. The third task was going to happen soon, and Clara hoped that it was going to go smoothly without any problems. 

Later that day, Clara noticed Harry. “Harry!” she called out. The black haired boy looked at her, and beamed. He ran to her.

“Clara, what are you doing here?” he asked brightly. 

“I’m one of the Aurors supervising the third task.” Clara explained. “How have you been doing? Eating enough I hope, cause you’re really needing to put up some weight since your growing; about time too!” Harry flushed a little.

“I’ve been doing fine, as you know, I’m in the Triwizard competition, so maybe not the best, but it could be worse.” Harry answered. Clara nodded.

“Yes, I see…Rotten Rita Skeeter, eh? Horrible woman.” Clara huffed angrily. Harry nodded in agreement. They talked some more, about the different things Harry did, about Sirius, about the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry’s other friends.

“Ron was a little angry at me in the beginning, because he thought I put my name in the Goblet of fire myself.” Harry said. Clara sighed and shook her head.

“He’s like a young Molly; his emotions get to his head too quickly and he makes unfair judgements.” She muttered. 

“Yeah, ah! Also, Professor Moody turned Draco into a ferret and used the Imperio curse on him as a punishment.” 

“EH?! But that’s illegal!” Clara said worriedly. “Though, I’m sure Draco made a cute ferret…and even though it was punishment, it’s still a little harsh. But knowing Allistor, he probably made look funny, didn’t he?” Harry nodded, and they both laughed. “Well, as my father says: ‘You reap what you sow’. If Draco goes round being horrible, he’s gonna get horrible stuff back.”

Harry nodded in agreement. They talked some more, but then Harry had to go, and they went their separate ways. 

~

The third task finally arrived, and everybody was on the place where it was to take place, aka, the Quidditch pitches. Clara was very surprised to see a massive maze, but was far too worried about Harry to bother. She saw him quickly, fussing over him.

“I’ll be fine, there’s no need to fawn over me!” Harry complained, even though his voice was strained.

“I know you’ll be fine, but I still want to see you come back in one piece!” Clara said.

“Geez, thanks for the encouragement…” Harry muttered. Clara grinned brightly at him.

“Good luck! And don’t worry, if you lose, nobody’ll blame you! But being James’ and Lily’s son, I doubt you’ll give up easily.” She said. Harry smiled and nodded, rushing over to the start. 

Everything was ready. It started. Clara was by far the most anxious. A red light. It was the French girl, Fleur. Later on, a second red light. It was the other out of school competitor, Krum. But no sign of Harry or Cedric. It was taking too long, Clara thought, and worry was biting at her stomach.

Then a Harry appeared, with Cedric. Everybody cheered for the two Hogwarts students, except Clara. The boy, Cedric, looked odd. He had that look of frozen fear. The same look she had seen too many times.

“Harry!” she shouted, seeing the boy tremble. She ran over to him. “Harry, what happened?!”

“V-Voldemort! He’s back!” Harry said through a pained voice. His arm was bleeding badly, and he was holding on to Cedric as if he’d never let go. Clara stared at Harry, as if she didn’t understand. Harry was taken into Hogwarts by Mad-eye, and Clara just stared at Cedric’s limp body. His father and mother were sobbing beside him. 

Anger gurgled inside of Clara. Voldemort…? No, she didn’t want to believe it. But why would Harry lie? Volde…mort…

Images sprang in front of Clara’s eyes; it took a while for her to realise they were memories. Lucius and Narcissa, Bellatrix and Regulus, Sirius and Lupin, Severus, Lily and James, Frank and Alice. Everything flashed in front of her eyes, but for some reason, what stood out the most was Voldemort’s evil, mocking features. The memories faded, and so did the light, as Clara was engulfed by the darkness.

~

Clara’s eyes fluttered open. She groaned and rolled over. She fell off the small bed with a squeak. “Owwwwwwww….” She whimpered. She saw feet and looked up. Molly was there. “Oh, Heya Molly!” The latter smiled sadly to her. Clara wondered why she was sad. Then she remembered. “Harry!” she stood up too quickly and got dizzy. 

“I’m fine…” said a tired voice. Clara saw a very dishevelled looking Harry on the bed of the infirmary. Clara saw the sadness in his eyes, and flung her arms around him. “Wha-?!” Harry exclaimed in surprise. Clara held on tightly to him, trembling a little.

“I’m, so, so, sorry…” she muttered. She pulled away from Harry, her eyes shining with tears. “This shouldn’t have happened…” 

“It’s not your fault…” Harry mumbled. Clara noticed Ron and Hermione. Clara mouthed ‘what happened again?’, the ginger boy and brunette shrugged in response, not knowing the answer. “I’ll tell you what happened later…I’m tired…” 

“Of course! That’s totally fine! Sleep!” Clara fussed over Harry again. A wet nose pressed again Clara’s palm. The brunette looked down, and saw a large black dog. She quietly squealed and hugged the large dog, knowing it was Sirius.

McGonagall came stomping in, yelling loudly, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Clara didn’t like him much. “This is an outrage! He let a dementor give Barty Crouch the kiss!” McGonagall complained to Dumbledore, who Clara also just noticed.

Fudge and McGonagall argued for some time, till Dumbledore asked for quiet. Clara tried to understand what was happening, but all she understood was that Barty Crouch Jr was actually alive (Clara thought he was dead) and had killed his father for some reason which Clara didn’t know, and had disguised as Mad-eye Moody using Polyjuice potion or something of the sort. Snape came in, and Clara felt Harry shrink a little in hatred. She sighed quietly. 

Snape showed his wrist. The mark, Clara jolted, was much darker than the last time she had seen it, and that meant Voldemort really had come back. “The Dark Lord is back! The mark has been burning for some time now, and earlier, it was much more visible than it is now.” Snape declared to Fudge, who took an unsure step backwards.

“Mad! All of you! You really believe You-know-who is back?!” He asked in anger and fear.

“Yes.” Clara said bluntly. Fudge glared at her. “What? My opinion is valid too.” She said innocently with a deadpan expression. 

Fudge huffed and left in a hurry. McGonagall went after him. Dumbledore turned to the rest of them. “Now, I believe we have a few things to sort out. Sirius, if you please.” 

The black dog transformed into Sirius, both Molly and Severus looked shocked. “Sirius Black!” Molly gasped. 

“Mum, it’s fine, I’ll explained later.” Ron muttered hurriedly to her. Molly gave him a perplexed look.

“You mean you knew about this?!”

“Molly, please, we don’t have time. First of all, Sirius is on our side, and- oh please, you two, it’s like you are both children again!” Dumbledore sighed. Severus and Sirius were glaring at each other. Clara pouted.

“Alrighty!” she exclaimed. “Both of you, you are now going to work together against Voldemort, please you three get used to the name” she said to Molly, Ron and Hermione, before turning her attention back to the black haired men. “So you are going to need to forgive each other and forget about the past, because come on, Lupin and I really just don’t care anymore!”

Sirius and Severus stared at her in disbelief. “I’m serious. Shake hands or I’m making you two working partners!” she ordered viciously. The two men reluctantly shook hands and quickly pulled their hands back from each other as quickly as they could. Clara sighed. “We’re gonna have to work on that, but for the time being: Good!” 

Dumbledore sighed, but smiled. After this, Severus and Sirius were ordered to do some jobs for Dumbledore, which Clara ignored, because looking after Harry with Mrs Pomfrey was her priority. Clara sighed. Things were getting messy again…

~

Clara went on the train to King’s Cross with Harry and the others, feeling she needed to be there. She talked constantly to them all, breaking the would’ve been awkward silence with ease. Neville, Hermione and Ron laughed with her, while Harry stared out the window. 

At the station, however, Clara saw Harry slip his Triwizard reward into the twins’ hands. When they passed her, she stopped them by wrapping her arms around their shoulders. “Ooh~ whattya gonna do with that~?” she giggled. The twins grinned and winked. “Oh, the …J-O-K-E shop, right?” she winked, whispering this part. Fred grinned and George laughed. Clara smiled. But at least there was some happiness in the world still, even with Voldemort back.


	14. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix part 1

Clara yawned, sitting up and stretching. She looked at the person next to her in bed. Sirius. OK, news to people who didn’t know: Sirius and Clara had had a very secret wedding; they had married in a muggle church, and Sirius had been very unrecognisable compared to when he was shown on the news, so it wasn’t an issue. But they did change his name from Sirius to Sam, just to be sure. So now Clara was Mrs Black, but nobody except the people from the Order of the Phoenix knew her change of name. 

Oh yes, the Order of the Phoenix had also re-established, which brought many sad memories to Clara. But all the same, she got out of bed, and went into the bathroom, washed and changed, before going downstairs and started to make breakfast. Kreacher walked in, and looked at Clara. He and Clara had always had a good understanding of each other, and got along very well.

“Oh, hello Kreacher!” Clara chimed, cooking up some breakfast.

“Good morning, mistress.” He answered politely. Clara pouted. 

“Aw, come on Kreacher, I told you can call me Clara.” She fake whined.

“If my poor mistress had heard me call my current mistress by her first name, she would have dishonoured.” Kreacher retorted. Clara sighed.

“Alright, whatever you prefer…” she muttered, cooking up some eggs and bacon. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“No, thank you, mistress.” Kreacher answered going towards his little room. Clara heard a thud from upstairs, and guessed Sirius fell out of bed. She put the eggs and bacon unto two plates, and waited for Sirius. The latter came down, fully dressed, and smiled at Clara. The woman grinned back as he sat down. 

“How did you sleep?” she asked before taking a mouthful of bacon.

“Better if I hadn’t found my bed empty…” Sirius muttered, giving a fake accusing look at her. Clara put on a hurt look.

“No, my fault?” she asked in fake surprise. “But at least I can cook; last time I checked, you can’t boil water without evaporating it all. Quite pathetic if you ask me.”

“Your opinion was rejected.” Sirius retorted, and Clara laughed. As Clara put the dishes into the sink, the doorbell rang. Clara went to it. 

“Who is it?” She asked.

“Molly Weasley.” Molly’s voice answered. Clara was about to open the door when she remembered she had to ask a question that only Molly would know.

“Which of the twins was I holding the night I was captured?” she asked. Molly thought for a second.

“Fred Weasley.” She answered. Clara smiled and opened the door, letting all the Weasleys in. Hermione also entered after them.

“Hermione! It’s lovely to see you!” Clara whispered happily. “Shhh, we have to be quiet, otherwise Sirius’ mother’s portrait is gonna be screaming.” She hurried them to the kitchen, closing the door. She joined them in the kitchen. Clara hugged Fred, George, Ron and Ginny all at once, then hugged Hermione, and then Molly. 

“Arthur’s at work, he’ll join us later.” Molly said. Clara noticed she looked very sad and upset. She looked at the twins with a question look. They made glasses out of their hands, and mouthed ‘Percy, we’ll explained later.’ Clara didn’t ask anymore.

“Hermione, I had no idea you were coming!” Clara exclaimed. Hermione smiled. They all started chatting a little, before there was a smash and a shouting woman. 

“Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, be gone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-!”

“ARGH, SHUT UP!” Sirius shouted, going to shut the portrait up. Clara sighed, hurrying to see none other than Tonks. 

“Sorry…” she mumbled, having pushed over that ugly troll leg umbrella thing Clara disapprove of. Lupin was also with her, and he smiled sheepishly. Clara smiled, and hurried them both away from an angry Sirius who was wrestling with the portrait’s curtains.

~

Sirius was in a bad mood. He wasn’t allowed outside, and that was making him cranky. He brooded over everything, and Clara felt truly sorry for him. He was like a cooped up dog…that was too ironic and funny to say, so she didn’t.

The Weasleys and Hermione were staying with them, and had been here for last three days. Clara had learned that Percy had had an argument with Arthur and had left. That angered her, but she also very upset. However, the twins’ creations were way too awesome and funny for her to think about Percy for long. Their Extendable Ears were something Clara loved very much.

“You guys are going to make thousands with these! Fred, George, I am proud to call you my godsons!” Clara laughed. The twins grinned happily. 

Many of the different Order members came and left, especially Lupin, Tonks and Mad-eye. They usually knew Tonks had arrived when Sirius’ mother started screaming.

Finally, the main person Clara wanted to see arrived: Harry. The screaming was no different though, so it was obvious Tonks was there as well.

“Harry!” Clara exclaimed, hugging the living daylights out of him. Sirius wrestled with the curtains again, making groggier than he already was. He smiled all the same to Harry, and welcomed him. Harry himself seemed rather irritated though. After a bit of talk, he asked the question knew he was going to ask.

“Why are the others here when I was in the Muggle world?” he asked. Clara let the others sort that out. They knew him best, so it’d be easier for them to explain. When Harry stormed out the room, nobody went after him. Clara sighed. 

“He is most definitely Lily’s son.” She said, following him. She found him lying on his bed, glaring at the ceiling as if it was all its fault. “Are you gonna be angry at everybody now, even though they are not to blame?” 

Harry looked at her, and grumbled. “I don’t understand why I never get to stay with Ron and the others for the whole summer holidays, and why I never get any visits.”

“I’m not gonna lie; I don’t know either.” Clara said sitting on the bed next to him. “But that doesn’t mean you need to mope around like an old rag. Go back downstairs and everything will be fine. We’re going to need to do some cleaning of the house anyway, so we’ll need your help.” Harry stayed silent, then sighed. 

When they all started cleaning, Clara was with them in the drawing room. Pixies were flying in all directions, and that annoyed Clara very much. One pixie pulled on Clara’s hair and giggled in an annoying tone. “Argh! Get into the bloody bucket!” Clara roared, spraying the pixie with the potion. It dropped to the floor, and Clara threw it into the bucket. “I usually like magical creatures, but I have no sympathy for pixies!” 

Ron and Hermione laughed. Clara noticed that Fred slipped a pixie in his pocket. Clara raised an eyebrow at him, but the twins only grinned in response. 

~

As the children went back to school, after his pointless trial, Clara continued with her life as usual. She went to work, but she returned every day to Sirius. He was rather lonely, even with the visits from the Order of the Phoenix members, and that was making his grouchy. “Oh liven up already!” Clara sighed, as Sirius was brooding over the breakfast table one morning. “It’s as if your parents were back here and told you off for putting up pictures of naked muggle girls on you wall again! Actually…”

“Yes, yes, I know. You’re not OK with the pictures. Look, I was a teenager then, and in a rebel phase.” Sirius retorted.

“You still are in a rebel phase.” Clara said bluntly.

~

Clara stared angrily at the twins’ letter. “Listen to this! Dolores Umbridge has become the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher! Apparently all she does is make the students read a theory book! That’s not going to help anything!” she exclaimed to Sirius, who in turn read Fred’s handwritten letter.

“Tsch, typical ministry. Just because they don’t believe Voldemort is back.” He sighed. Clara was flushed up and angry.

“Exactly! It’s ridiculous! I doubt Harry and the others will just sit around and do nothing though.” She said. Sirius nodded.

“Yes, he is James’ and Lily’s son.” He agreed.

“Yes, and your godson.” Clara added.

“I have feeling that’s not a good thing, the way you’re saying it.” Sirius mumbled flatly.

“Oh no, it’s a good thing, just Harry is reckless.” Clara said indifferently. Silence entered the kitchen for a while.

“Hey!” Sirius exclaimed, offended. “I am not that reckless!” Clara laughed.

~

Clara had to be away from Sirius for a long while, because she had to search for the Azkaban prisoners who had broken out. She was extremely busy, but also extremely scared. Bellatrix wasn’t the Bellatrix she knew anymore. She was simply an insane puppet. Voldemort’s puppet for that matter, which simply made it worse. Clara searched for them everywhere, but there was no sign of Bellatrix or the others. Clara thought that Neville must be feeling uncomfortable with the people who made his parents mad on the run, but she doubted that Bellatrix and the others would be interested in going to Hogwarts first things after breaking out, so that made her feel better.

One night, though, she dreamt of the time after she had started her second year in Hogwarts, during the Christmas holidays, how Bellatrix and herself had made a prank on Narcissa, making her believe the washing powder was sugar, so that when she mixed it together with the other ingredients to make gingerbread biscuits with Clara’s mother, the whole room was filled with ginger scented bubbles. It was hilarious seeing Narcissa’s shocked face. After that, she was completely put off cooking. Bellatrix had been a bit of a trickster as a teenager, and Clara used to join in with her pranks often. When Clara woke up, her face was wet with tears. 

Finally, after long weeks, Clara was able to return to Sirius in May. She had missed Christmas and New Year, and needed some serious rest. She knocked on the door of Grimmauld Place 12. There was a scrambled on the other side of the door. “Who is it?” Sirius’ voice asked.

“Clara Black.” Clara answered, loving to say the surname. 

“What did Clara do to the Marauders when they had been messing with Snape?” Sirius asked. 

“I slapped James, kicked you in the shin, scared Wormtail, shocked Lupin, kicked you again, and stepped on James before dragging Severus away.” Clara answered a hint of amusement in her voice. Sirius opened the door and pulled her in quickly. They went into the kitchen.

“I find it interesting how you remember everything.” Sirius said flatly. Clara grinned.

“How could I forget? It was also the same day where you got stuck in your exam.” She reminded him, and Sirius huffed. “And thanks to me, you got full marks on that question too~”

“Yes, yes.” Sirius mumbled. Clara kissed his nose, and laughed. “By the way, I thought you should know. Arthur was attacked by Voldemort’s snake.”

“WHAT?!!” Clara shouted. 

“He’s fine now! It was a little before Christmas, and he got healed just fine. Harry saw into the snake’s thoughts and was able to tell Dumbledore and the others in time too.” Sirius reassured, but that only made Clara fluster.

“WHAT!? B-b-b-b-b-but he saw into the snake’s mind! That’s not ‘fine’!” Clara shouted.

“He’s getting Occlumency lessons from Snivellus, its fine.” Sirius retorted. Clara stared.

“What’s not fine is that you’re still called Severus ‘Snivellus’.” She said with a deadpan expression. Sirius shrugged. “But anyway…hey, are you OK?”

“Sorta…I’m a little bored being here on my own…I wish I could go outside and do something to help the others…having only Kreacher and Buckbeak around isn’t really fun.” Sirius sighed.

“OK, OK, now, what did Severus say?” Clara asked. Sirius looked surprised. “Yes, it’s that obvious.” 

“Well…I dunno, in general he just said that I was being a coward hiding here and a useless member of the Order. In front of Harry too…” he answered, looking a little glum. 

“And is that bothering you?”

“Not really, but it’s annoying.”

“I swear, you two are like cats and dogs. Always fighting!” Clara sighed. “Oh…wait…My animagus form is a panther…Oh well, we’re an exception then.” She laughed, but gasped when Sirius picked her up and carried her over his shoulder upstairs. “Oi! What are you doing?! Put me down!”

“Nope. I haven’t seen you in weeks, months even, and I’m stressed. And anyway, we’re married now~” he purred jokingly.

“Eh?” Clara was confused, but when Sirius entered his bedroom, and locked the door behind him, Clara understood and blushed. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!”


	15. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix part 2

“Oh my goodness! Congratulation!” Molly exclaimed, hugging Clara tightly. Clara had just told most of the Order that she was pregnant. Sirius was blushing a little, embarrassed, but Lupin patted his shoulder, grinning. 

“M-Molly… I can’t breathe!” Clara gasped, and Molly let go of her. 

“Oh, I remember when I find out I was pregnant with Bill~!” She said in a dreamy sort of way, and Clara laughed nervously. This was going to go on for a while. But it didn’t, and soon enough, the members of the Order left. When they had all gone, it was only Sirius, Lupin and Clara.

“So, are you thinking of the godparents?” Sirius and Lupin asked in union. Clara stared.

“Hey, dudes, something like two weeks pregnant, ain’t that a bit early?” She said bluntly. “But if you insist.” She looked at Lupin, who shook his head.

“Don’t think about it. I’m not becoming a godfather. I’d just be an embarrassment to your child.” Lupin said simply. Clara pouted.

“But Re~ mus~, you’re my best friend!” She whined like a five year old. 

“No is no Clara. You should choose somebody else.” Lupin refused again. Clara huffed in a fake upset way.

“Pfff, I’ll give you time to think about it then...” she murmured, and kissed Sirius on the forehead before walking towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Sirius asked, worry in his tone. The brunette turned to him and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Just cause I’m pregnant doesn’t mean you need to start worrying about me, Padfoot. I’m just going to visit my parents. I haven’t told them the news yet.” Well, that was half true. She was going to go to her parents, but first, she was going to tell Lucius and Narcissa. Even though she knew there was a possibility that Bellatrix was there, she wasn’t all that worried anymore. Sirius and Lupin exchanged suspicious looks but nodded.

Clara winked at them, and left the building, Apparating immediately in front of Malfoy Manor’s gates. Narcissa was on the other side of the gate for some reason, and she gasped when she saw Clara. “C-Clara!” she gasped.

“Heya~! How you doing?” Clara asked cheerfully. Narcissa looked at her in confusion. “What? I’m just here to visit. I have the day off.”

Narcissa seemed to relax, and smiled a little. She opened the gates, and Clara quickly hugged her in greeting. “Is Lucius here?” Clara asked, Narcissa nodded. They both made their way to the Manor silently. When the door opened, Lucius looked at Clara with shock, but it was wiped off his face when she pounced unto him and hugged him. “Hey, hey, guess what!?”

“What?” Lucius said calmly.

“I’m pregnant!” Clara chimed happily. The Malfoys stared at her in no comprehension. 

“Wait, what? You’re pregnant? Who’s the father?” Lucius asked in confusion. Clara knew she hadn’t told them she had gotten married, but she had needed to tell them she was pregnant.

“Who d’you think?” Clara winked. Narcissa and Lucius looked at each other, then at Clara. “And I’m not telling~!” the younger girl chimed.

~

Clara stared at the letter, and laughed loudly. “I believe we have a reincarnation of James Potter!” she said in between laughs, earning a sceptical look from across the table. Clara passed the letter to the owner of the look, and Sirius read the letter. He burst out laughing too.

“I like those two! Exactly what James and I would’ve done!” Sirius agreed. The letter contained a detailed account of the twins’ escape from Umbridge, leaving Hogwarts altogether. They were currently in London, and Clara made a mental note to visit them. 

“Yes, and I would be scorning you through mail.” Clara teased. Sirius smiled and winked. Clara grinned, but felt a little nauseous as she did most days now. “Gosh...I wish I had been told in advanced what it’s like to be pregnant. It’s like I have a constant cold...”

“Don’t worry; I’m sure it’ll get better.” Sirius said in an encouraging way. Clara pouted, and rested her chin on the table.

“I hope it does...Mum said that when she was pregnant with me, she had weird food urges. Like, she said, she always wanted to eat pomegranates, strawberries and chocolate...” 

“That’s not so bad.”

“...during winter.” Clara added.

“Oh...so pregnant women want the impossible...Nothing new here.” Sirius said to himself. Clara stuck her tongue out at him. 

~

“Harry? What are you doing?” Sirius asked, and Clara’s attention perked to the fireplace. Harry’s head was there among the ashes, where Lupin was crouching in front of. He looked worried, or at least hurried.

“Hey...Sirius, I don’t have much time, I’m in Umbridge’s office, and I need to ask you something.” Harry asked quickly. The three adults looked at him in shock, but Sirius nodded.

“Sure, ask away.” He said, and Harry took a deep breath.

“During Occlumency, Severus-”

“Professor Snape, Harry.” Clara chimed from the back.

“-fine, fine, Professor Snape, left. Before every lesson, he takes out some of his memories and puts them in the Pensieve. When he left, I wanted to see what the memories were, and so I did...” Harry paused. Clara had a feeling of where this was going. “...and I saw my dad-”

“-suspending Severus in the air?” Clara finished for him. Harry looked at her in shock, but she grinned. “All of it? Or just that part?”

“Um...I also saw the part where you slapped him.” Harry said slowly. Clara laughed. Sirius and Lupin had deadpan expressions.

“What was it you wanted to ask?” Sirius asked flatly, a little annoyed at Clara. But by then, Clara had lost all concentration, and looked suspiciously at Kreacher. He was obviously hiding something, tiptoeing to his small room. Clara squinted to try to see what it was, but her attention quickly returned to the fireplace.

“Clara! I just wanted to ask you a question.” Harry said hurriedly. Clara nodded, urging him on. “How did you end up being friends with these guys and my dad if you hated them both so much then?”

Clara looked at Sirius, who stared at her back. She pouted. “I was...convinced.” she said vaguely, blushing ever so lightly from embarrassment.

“...I think I’d rather not know.” Harry said flatly, if not, a little amused. “Oh, out of time! I’ve got to go!” and he disappeared.

“....”

“....”

“....” The three adults stayed in silence, until Clara snorted in laughter.

“Exactly how Lily would’ve reacted. He may look like James, but at heart, he’s a lot like Lily.” The woman hinted to Sirius.

“Yes. We know.” Lupin said for Sirius.

~

Clara was taking a nap on her bed. She got tired a lot lately, and found it tiring to work a lot. Not even that long pregnant, and she was already exhausted. However, there was some commotion downstairs, and Clara woke up. Grumpy to have been woken up against her will, she went downstairs to find Sirius shouting angrily at Kreacher.

“Oi! What’s happening here?!” Clara shouted angrily. Sirius looked at her.

“This pest here has lied to Harry! He said I had been captured when Harry asked where I was! Apparently he’s headed for the Ministry!” Sirius shouted back. Clara gasped.

“THEN DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME SHOUTING! WE’VE GOT TO TELL THE OTHERS IMMEDIATELY!” Clara shrieked. Sirius and Kreacher were both stunned, until Clara stomped out into the hall, and Sirius rushed after her. Within ten minutes, they had most of the Order together and all Apparated at the Ministry.

Sirius and Clara were the most worried, Sirius twice as much actually, because he believed Clara should have stayed at home, but was shut up when Clara’s stern look told him ‘no’. Yet when Clara saw Ron, who seemed to be seeing things, she turned to Sirius, and kissed him on the cheek quickly. She ran to the poor ginger.

“Ron, RON! Oh god...” she saw the obvious marks of thoughts on him, and noticed the tank of brains. 

“Oh, hello~!” Ron cooed madly, a little dreamily. Clara also noticed Luna unconscious on the ground, and Hermione seemed to be also unconscious. Ginny was there too, being attended to by one of the members of the Order. They should be OK, but where was Harry?

“Harry? Harry?! Oh my god, Neville!” Clara exclaimed rushing to the boy. He had a bleeding nose, but seemed alright. “Neville, we’re here, so you’ll be alright now. Where’s Harry?” Neville pointed to a little far off, where Harry was fighting off a Death Eater. “Stupefy!” The Death Eater was thrown off his feet and hit the wall. Harry looked shocked, and then noticed the newcomers. Clara pulled him towards Neville. “You two get out of here!” she shouted over the noise of fighting.

“But-!” Harry argued, but closed his mouth when Clara glared at him. He nodded and rushed to Neville. A spell exploded in the space in between him and Clara, and the brunette lost sight of the black haired boy. She turned to who had sent the spell, and froze when she saw Bellatrix.

“Hello there Clara! Long-time no see!” She laughed hysterically, sending spells randomly at Clara. The latter dodged the spells, and threw some spells at Bellatrix when she could.

“Get lost, Bellatrix!” Sirius’ voice was heard over all the noise. The two began fighting, and Clara noticed Lucius, unconscious. Harry or Lucius? Clara looked for the said boy nervously, and spotted him, covered with rumble, along with Neville, and seemed a little confused. A spell must have exploded next to him. Clara ran towards him. If he died, Clara would never forgive herself. If Lucius was taken to Azkaban, at least he would be safe. Before she could reach him, Clara turned her head to where Sirius and Bellatrix were fighting.

“Ha! Is that all you can do, cousin?!” Sirius mocked the other woman. The said woman flushed up angrily.

“Avada Kedavra!” she screamed. The spell hit Sirius square in the chest. Clara’s eyes widened, while Sirius’s eyes seemed to be clouded over by confusion. As if in slow motion, he fell backwards, into the curtain. Clara knew it was all over. Sirius was gone, and that was it. Instead of sadness, immense anger spread throughout her. Bellatrix laughed hysterically, once again throwing spells randomly around the room.

“Confringo!” Clara screamed, in pure anger. Bellatrix dodged the spell and laughed even more. This only added fuel to the fire inside of Clara even more. “Crucio!” the latter screeched. Bellatrix eyes widened and she ran away, avoiding the spell. Only then did Clara notice that she used one of the Unforgivable Curses. Not that she cared; Bellatrix deserved pain and death. But she also noticed Lupin trying to hold back Harry, who had rushed to the curtain, looking for Sirius. The black haired boy fought out of Lupin’s grasp and ran after Bellatrix. “No! Harry!”

Clara ran after him. She also wanted to go and look for Sirius, but she knew there was no point; he was gone for good. And she needed to accept that; if not now, then never. “Harry!” she called out again. She entered the room where Harry and Bellatrix had run into. It was the Ministry’s front hall, with the fountain in the middle. Harry was crouching behind, throwing spells at Bellatrix. “Stupefy!” Clara shouted. Her spell smashed into the edge of the fountain on Bellatrix’s side, as Clara had been running and couldn’t aim properly. Water flowed from the hole, and started flooding the floor. “Harry, we need to get out of here! Harry? Harry, what’s wrong?”

The boy was pale, and was breathing quickly. “H-He’s coming…” he gasped. Clara was confused, her anger and worry fogging her mind. 

“What? Who is?” she asked. Only when a figure she knew too well appeared in a little way off from them did she understand. Voldemort. 

Clara growled, and grabbing Harry, made a run for the exit. “Avada Kedavra!” Clara pulled Harry with her as she dodged the spell, the spot where Harry had been before exploded. Clara hid behind the fountain, keeping an eye out for Bellatrix, who was grovelling at Voldemort’s feet.

“I am so sorry master! The prophecy was destroyed!” Bellatrix begged.

‘Prophecy? What prophecy?’ Clara was curious, but right now was not the moment to worry about prophecies. Getting Harry out of here was her priority. “Harry, I want you to get out of here, you understand?”

“What? But Bellatrix-!” 

“Yes. I know Bellatrix killed Sirius. Accept it, and move on, Harry. You need to stay alive.” Clara said coldly. Harry shut his mouth and nodded. “Good. On three. One…” ‘Sirius, maybe I’ll join ya, what do you think?’ “Two…” ‘I think I should.’ “Three!” Clara jumped out, wand pointed towards Voldemort. “Stupefy!”

“Finite Incantatem!” Voldemort blocked her spell.

“Confringo!” Clara shouted, but Voldemort blocked her attack again. Clara kept her wand pointed to Voldemort, at the same time keeping an eye on Bellatrix, who looked outraged. Clara could see in the corner of her eyes Harry, who had hit behind a large block of rubble. Clara stared at Voldemort with complete hatred, only wishing he would die.

“My, isn’t it Clara de Rambures, the very Gryffindor like Slytherin?” Voldemort mocked, looking at her intensively with his snake like eyes. Clara scowled, but said nothing. “I know Potter is here, so why are you trying to protect him?” 

“Tsch. Simple enough, isn’t it? He reminds me of his parents, who happened to be my best friends, and who you killed.” She snarled angrily, her anger rising again, with interest. Voldemort laughed a freaky, high pitched laugh. It was inhuman, absolutely insane and psychopathic, and sent shivers down Clara’s back. 

“As blunt as you were before. We could use people like you in my army.” Voldemort proposed, smiling evilly.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to refuse. Scratch that; I couldn’t freaking care less! Aveda Kedavra!” Clara screamed the last sentence. She felt a cold chill along her arm, which seemed to go to her wand; it was as if her hatred and anger had been the spell itself. She was horrified with herself. She had, once again, used an Unforgivable Curse, this time the most dangerous one. Voldemort and Bellatrix disappeared right before the spell hit them. Bellatrix appeared on the side of the fountain, will Voldemort appeared a little further away from the rest of them.

“How dare you use the killing curse on the Dark Lord!” Bellatrix screamed in fury. 

“I couldn’t care less Bella!” Clara screamed back. “Stupefy!”

“Protego!” The black haired woman chanted, shielding herself. “Crucio!” She shot back at the younger woman. Clara didn’t have enough time to dodge the spell, and it her in the side. Clara felt the pain travel throughout her whole body. The pain was unbelievable. She couldn’t even scream it hurt so much. Electric like pain sparked everywhere in her body. Bellatrix laughed hysterically. “That’s what you get for attacking the Dark Lord!” However, she became quiet when she saw Clara become tremble terribly, but instead of squirming and twisting in pain, she wrapped her arms around her abdomen and brought her knees upwards, as if protecting something. 

“Stop it! Expelliarmus!” Harry shouted. Bellatrix dodged the spell, ending the spell on Clara. The latter let out a sharp gasp trembling painfully. The world went foggy in front of her. 

‘That’s right…I can’t die…I mustn’t die…Otherwise…our child will die too…’ Clara thought before the darkness she knew so well surrounded her completely and all noise vanished away.

~

‘Sirius…Sirius…?’ “Sirius…”

“Clara? Clara! Clara wake up!” Clara’s eyes fluttered open to see Fred and George. “Clara!” The hugged her tightly.

“Ugh…G-guys…I can’t…breathe.” Clara gasped out. They let her go, apologizing while they did. “You two are so much more like Molly than you realise.” She smiled. “But…uh, where am I?” 

“Hospital. Again.” Her father, Charlie, pointed out in his French accent. He looked very sad. “Your mother was so worried she didn’t go to work!” he motioned to her sleeping mother, Milona. She was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Clara sat up, but was pushed back down by her father. “You are lucky to have been able to not lose your child by the Crucio curse! You are staying in bed till we are sure you will not lose the child!” her father scolded, though he still looked upset.

“A-Are you serious? I haven’t…lost my child?” Clara asked. She had been sure the Crucio curse had killed the small and fragile being inside her. It was a pure miracle that she could still have it. Clara started crying. First from relief, then from sadness. “S-Sirius...!” she sobbed, and brought her hands to her face. George looked upset, and Fred started crying quietly, the twins hugging her. She hugged them back, sobbing and hiccupping. 

~

Clara slowly made her way to Hogwarts. She had spent a week at the hospital, and was now allowed to move. It was the last day of term, and the students would be leaving the next day to go home. When Clara reached the gates of the school, she saw the Bloody Baron waiting. He nodded to her in greeting, and Clara nodded back. She had always liked the Bloody Baron. Even if everybody found him creepy, and he didn’t talk much, Clara had always found him to be comforting and understanding when she was upset. They both made their way to the Hall, though Clara felt her confidence face away somehow.

“It’ll be alright, Clara. Severus is there.” The Bloody Baron reassured. Another thing Clara liked about him; he said the right things at the right time. Clara nodded, feeling a little better. 

They entered the Hall, and hundreds of heads turned to look at them. Harry was the only face Clara noticed. He looked upset, and Clara knew he was feeling the same way as she was. Clara walked to the teacher’s table, where Dumbledore nodded to her, and showed her to a seat next to Severus. Clara sat down, and everyone turned back to their food. 

Clara didn’t have much appetite, but talk a lot to Severus. Not about anything in particular, just asking and answering sort of conversation. 

“How’s Draco been doing in Potions?” Clara asked randomly.

“He has great potential.” Severus answered flatly.

“Are you just saying that because he’s your favourite, or do you mean it?” Clara teased, grinning. Severus looked at her with a ‘seriously, do you need to be so public about it’ look.

“I believe that has nothing to do with you, Clara.” The black haired man answered, as flatly as ever. Clara pouted.

“Come on, everybody knows Draco’s your fave, there’s no need to hide it.” Clara giggled. 

“Stop pretending to be happy, Clara, that grimace does not fit you.” Severus retorted. Clara stared at him with a deadpan expression before smiling sadly. 

“Always see right through my masks as always.” She mumbled sadly. She tried to look a little OK, but by now, the sad aura had filled the entire room. 

“Clara…I understand Sirius’ death must have been hard for you.” Severus said, a little bit of sympathy in his voice. Clara smiled brightly at him, all depression disappeared.

“Yup! I know you understand, even if you hated his guts.” Clara said cheerfully. “But you know, I’m not sad when I have friends around, but when I’m at home, at Grimmauld place…I feel so…lonely.” She trailed off a little, her voice become a whisper. Severus nodded. 

“That’s normal. You’ll get used to eat. But take this advice: move back to your parents’ house, you’ll be safer there. I don’t believe leaving a pregnant woman alone with a slightly demented elf will do her any good, especially if they happened to be called Clara de Rambures Black.” The latter advised. Clara pouted, looking offended.

“That was uncalled for…” she murmured.

“But you know it is true.” Severus replied. Clara kicked him under the table, not that anyone noticed, and it took a great deal of self-control from Severus to not wince and act normal.

After the dinner, Clara fished out Harry from the crowd. Not very hard, since he seemed to be the only one of the students to be completely under the cloud. Next to him was also Ron and Hermione, and a little further away, Clara noticed another person under the cloud; Draco. She decided to get Draco first, so she looked for Nearly-Headless Nick. “Nick! Can I ask you a favour?”

“Clara! Of course! Except if it’s got to do with contacting Sirius because I can assure you-” the ghost started.

“Harry asked you that? Damn, I wish I could’ve left the hospital earlier. But no, I know Sirius has passed over, and I am very glad! No, I want you to keep Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and possibly Luna if you can find her here for a little while, while I speak to Draco. Can you do that?” Clara cut through. The ghost nodded, smiling a little, and went to look for those people.

Meanwhile, Clara went to Draco, and dragged him away from the other Slytherins. “C-C-C-C-Clara?! What are you doing?! Let go!” the albino protested. Clara took him into a deserted corridor, and hugged him tightly. Draco stiffened, as if her touch would contaminate him.

“I am so, so, so sorry…I…I heard about Lucius…” Clara murmured. “I should’ve saved him there…” Draco relaxed in her arms, and slowly returned the hug.

“Y-You already saved him once…it wouldn’t have worked a second time…a-a-and anyway…at least he’s even a little safer in Azkaban.” Draco sobbed quietly.

“But it doesn’t make it any better. I just wanted to tell you I was sorry. And if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me!” Clara said, looking softly at him. Draco nodded. “Oh, and I also know Bella is staying at your house.” Draco stiffened again, looking terrified. Clara smiled. “Tell her next time we meet, I will murder her with my own hands, ‘kay?” she cooed, an extremely dark smile plastered on her face. Draco shivered but nodded. “Cool. So I wish you a relaxing holiday and don’t get into too much trouble with all this mess…” she said finally, patting him on the head. He lowered his head a little and nodded again, smiling a little at her as he made his way back to his house. 

Clara smiled; happy that was sorted, and quickly made her way to Nick. The latter had been able to get all the people she wanted, and much to Clara’s relief, they all seemed OK. “Thank you Nick.” She nodded to him and he nodded back, causing his head to hang from the one muscle. He drifted away, and Clara turned to the six children. “You six are the biggest bunch of idiots I have ever met.” She said bluntly. They all looked sad, except Luna, with her far off look, and Hermione, who looked flustered at being called an idiot. “Hermione Granger, I expected you to be more stubborn on not letting Harry go to the ministry. Same with you Ginny Weasley.” Two said girls lowered their head in shame. “Luna Lovegood, why did you help them to find a way to get to the Ministry? You should’ve known that it was a dangerous place to be with Voldemort, oh grow up, all of you-” she said flatly as all of them but Harry shivered. “-around, and should’ve known better!” 

Luna nodded, looking a little embarrassed. “Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom, you acted as great friends to Harry, but as I said to Hermione and Ginny, why. Did. You. Encourage him?!” Ron and Neville fidgeted. “And Harry, you are the dumbest of the lot! First of all, you should’ve known that Voldemort, Oh for the name of all that is good, stop flinching! You should’ve known that Voldemort was going to use that connection between you sooner or later! Secondly, if Sirius was there, I would have been there too, and I would have contacted Severus or Albus a long time ago!” Harry looked upset.

“U-um…C-Clara…how do you know all of this? About us not really stopping Harry?” Hermione stuttered, a little nervously.

“Oh, well I heard it from Albus at the hospital.” Clara said flatly. She took a deep breath then grinned. “I needed to get that off my chest! Now! Luna, are you alright? I saw you unconscious, and hoped it wasn’t too bad!” Luna looked a little shocked at the sudden change of mood, like all the others, but nodded, confirming she was fine. “And you Hermione? You were also unconscious, and seemed wounded!”

“I-I’m fine, thank you.” Hermione nodded. Clara grinned in approval.

“Ginny, what about you? You weren’t wounded, right?”

“Not anything serious.” Ginny shook her head.

“Great! Neville how’s your nose?” Clara asked the confused boy.

“Fine now…thanks.” He muttered.

“Brilliant! And Ron! You were attacked by Brains! I saw those thought marks on you! Are you alright?! If you feel a bit dizzy or weird, go to the infirmary immediately!” Clara said in one breath. Ron looked much taken back, more from shock than anything else. 

“I feel better than I did before.” He nodded. Clara grinned happily. 

“Awesome. Thanks for letting me talk to you guys. I need to speak to Harry on his own now if you don’t mind.” The five children shook their heads, and said goodbye, making their ways back to their houses. Harry and Clara stood in a sort of awkward silence for a while, until Clara sat down on the bench nearby. Harry did the same and immediately, Clara hugged the living daylights out of him. He tapped her arm, showing that he could’t breathe. “Sorry. But you are an idiot.” She poked his head with his messy hair on it. 

“I know. It’s my fault Sirius died.” Harry said, apologizing.

“Yeah, partially. The other side was James’ fault.” Clara said bluntly. Harry looked at her with a look of mixed shock and sadness. “That impulsive side of you that wanted to help Sirius not matter what was definitely James’ genes. If you have had the calm side of Lily, then you wouldn’t have rushed to such conclusions.”

Harry lowered his head. “So in the end, it’s still all my fault.” He looked like he wanted to cry, but the tears didn’t come.

“Yup. But it’s a good thing Sirius died, to be honest.” Clara said in a matter-of-fact way. Harry’s expression turned from sad to angry.

“What?!” he asked, infuriated. Clara looked calm, almost casual.

“Well think about it. He’s dead, so he doesn’t have to worry about Voldemort and all that trouble anymore. He’s free, and won’t have to see more of his friends die. He’s had so many troubles in his life; I don’t think he would’ve made it in the end anyway. Also, he gets to be with Lily and James, oh and his brother Regulus! Even if they hated each other’s guts, I’d do anything to be with him again. I miss Lily and James so much; even if your father was a bit of a jackass at times.” Clara said, as if consulting the weather. Harry’s expression softened and he put his head in his hands.

“How can you speak so easily about this…?” he asked, he voice a little blocked.

“Because I accept it. It hurts. My child will grow up without a father. I’ve become a widow after barely a year of being married. I’ve lost another of my school friends. It’s now only Severus, Beatrice and Remus who were in my year.” Clara said simply. Harry nodded, tears trickling down his cheeks.

“It’s difficult to accept the truth…” he murmured. Clara hugged him gently, tears also running down her cheeks.

“I know, love, I know…the truth always hurts.” Clara whispered sadly, Harry hugging her back tightly.

~

Clara wave at the train until it disappeared completely. She sighed, but felt free. She knew Sirius was watching over her, no matter how much she missed him, no matter how much that special spot, made just for Sirius, made a large gap in her happiness. 

“Hey Clara…” a tired voice said from behind. Clara turned to look Remus, who looked dishevelled. His eyes were a little red, and he seemed very tired too. Clara smiled and leaned her elbow on his shoulder.

“How’s it doin’ Moony?” Clara asked casually.

“I’ve felt better. All of…this isn’t helping.” He answered, meaning Sirius’ death. Clara nodded. 

“Yup. Nothing’s helping. And we don’t know what’s going to happen. All we do know is that shit’s coming this way.” The animagus declared. Remus sighed.

“That’s putting it lightly.” The werewolf murmured.


	16. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince part 1

Clara grumbled as another top couldn’t cover a bulge. She sighed, and gave up finding a top that would fit, and put on a thick hoodie instead. She went downstairs, and entered the kitchen. She was met by her father, Charlie. He smiled at her brightly. 

“Morning. I see you couldn’t find anything to wear again.” He teased with his French accent. Clara puffed her cheeks. 

“I’ll need to go shopping…” she sighed. She then remembered. “Ah! Harry is arriving at Arthur’s and Molly’s soon, we can all go to Diagon Alley when they go for their school shopping. And Harry will be able to see Fred’s and George’s shop!” she said fondly. She absolutely adored that shop! Charlie nodded.

“He will indeed. By the way, yesterday I saw Tonks; she said she needed your help for some reason.” He said. Clara’s attention was perked up by this, feeling worried. 

~

“OK…OK…Calm down Tonks. Explain slowly. SLOWLY.” Clara said calmly, for Tonks’ hair was going crazy out of annoyance. 

“I love Lupin.” She said flatly. Her hair turned a dull colour once more. Clara stared in surprise. “Yes, I do. And I want to marry him, but…”

“But what?” The brown haired girl asked, sipping some of her hot chocolate from her mug. 

“He doesn’t want to…” Tonks muttered sadly. Clara coughed.

“What? Why?” She spluttered. Tonks’ hair flared a wild colour again.

“Because, as always he’s worried about my status on society for marrying a werewolf! And also, Mr ‘I’m a werewolf so I have to be a loner’ is worried that our child would get bullied or disregarded for having a werewolf father.” She huffed angrily. Clara wiped her mouth with a napkin and sank into her armchair.

“Typical Moony. Always worrying about others and being ashamed about himself…” The brunette sighed. Tonks nodded, and once again, her hair turned a dull colour. Clara stared at it. “By any chance, are you trying to get the same hair colour as Moony?” The other girl jolted in surprise and blushed.

“W-Well…unintentionally I guess…” she muttered bashfully, gaining an amused giggle from Clara. The latter winked at Tonks.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get good old Moony to marry you, you’ll see~” she chimed happily.

~

“Remus ‘Moony’ Lupin. You will marry her.” Clara said stubbornly, earning a sigh from her friend. The man looked very tired indeed, and didn’t seem like he wanted to be nagged in marriage by anyone, especially not Clara.

“Clara, I understand you think we’re a good couple, but I don’t think it’s a great idea. I mean, think about her social status.” He said flatly. Clara rolled her eyes. 

“Oh puh-LEASE. You she doesn’t care about that. She loves you, Moony! You need someone like her!” the brunette argued. The werewolf sighed again. “Really! Moony, when you find the right person, marriage is the most wonderful thing ever! I would now!” Clara said, then stopped abruptly, biting her lip. Remus also looked saddened, and hugged his friend gently.

“I understand you’re worried about me, ever since Sirius. And I know you’re still upset, not matter how much you try to hide it. But please, think of how Tonks will be seen by everyone else.” He said quietly. Clara hugged him tightly.

“But why does it matter if you can be with the one you love…?” she murmured.

~

Harry had arrived, so Clara had went with him, Hermione and the Weasleys to Diagon Alley, for the much needed shopping. Ginny had agreed to go with her. Diagon Alley was very empty, and Clara knew Death Eaters must have come to raid the place. She looked sadly at the well-known shops that were now completely empty. Clara didn’t stay too long at the cloaks shop, hoping to leave quickly to see Fred and George. She hurried Ginny, the latter trotting next to her.

“I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be hurrying like that when pregnant.” She puffed. Clara giggled.

“Nonsense! It’s my kid, it’s gonna be fine!” she squealed, as the twins’ shop appeared round the corner. Harry and the others were already there. She walked next to Ron, and grinned over to Harry. “Impressive, isn’t it?” she asked the black haired boy, who nodded in agreement. However Molly was flustering over the sign they had put on the door. Clara laughed it off with Ron, who both thought it was great. They all entered the shop, and were welcomed with a blast of bright colours and noise.

“Wow! They’re doing great business!” Harry exclaimed. They all dispersed and Clara ended up looking at love potions. 

“Hello auntie~” a cheerful voice said. Clara looked behind her to see a very nicely dressed Fred.

“‘Ello Freddie~! And I told you not to call me ‘auntie’, it makes me feel old.” She giggled. “By the way, these aren’t REALLY true love potions, are they?” she asked, pointing to the small container.

“Course not. Making an actual true love potion is practically impossible. Those cause infatuation of whoever gave you the potion.” The younger twin said, appearing from behind a shelf of merchandise. Clara grinned to George, the latter grinning back. “So how’s it going?” he asked.

“Apart from the constant cravings and sleep issues, all’s well!” Clara chimed happily. She spent the rest of the hour with the twins, the two boys showing their godmother their new products. Clara thought it was funny how Sirius like they were. Always new ideas and new jokes. They were a bit like the Marauders had been. She felt upset at the thought of Sirius, but happy that the world hadn’t dulled because of his death.

“So, Clara, are you thinking about godparents for the child?” Arthur asked that evening, when Clara stayed to have supper with the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry.

“To be honest…no. I don’t know…There are so many people…choosing only one is impossible, so I think my kid will probably have two godparents.” The brunette answered, staring at her apple crumble and custard with much thought. 

“What about names?” Ginny asked eagerly. Clara looked just as thoughtful.

“Well…I’d quite want to call my kid Sirius…but it depends if my kid will be a girl or a boy...I really don’t know.” She shook her head, taking a mouthful of her pudding. Molly nodded in understanding.

“It was difficult naming the children. It always is; with all those beautiful names.” The ginger haired woman smile, understanding the younger woman completely. Clara grinned. 

“Yeah, isn’t it just?” she chimed. She stayed the evening with them, though she missed Percy a lot. He still hadn’t come back to the family, and for the few short weeks Clara had been able to stay at work until she went on pregnancy leave, Percy was always avoiding her. That made her very upset, but accepted the fact he was a stubborn Weasley, and that he would eventually come round and be part of the family again. How long that would be…who knows?

“Hey, Ron, you better write to me about what’s happening in school, ‘kay?” Clara winked at the boy, gaining a smile from Ron.

“Sure, if I remember to.” He said cheerfully.

“I’m sure Hermione and Ginny will pester you into remembering.” Clara laughed. The two said girls giggled, Harry looking a bit out of it. Clara looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong Harry?”

“Hm? Oh nothing…” Harry said quietly. Clara knew he was worrying over something. She smiled softly at him.

“Hey Harry, we’re all always there for you if you need help, y’know.” She said gently. “You don’t have to bear the weight of things on your own.” The green eyed boy looked at her, he nodded, and sighed.

“I’m still upset at Sirius’ death. And I’m worried about Voldemort and all that…” everybody except for Clara flinched. She pouted.

“Meh, don’t worry ‘bout it. Live for the moment, because you never know what will happen in the next moment.” She said, sounding rather casual. “And I know what you mean ‘bout Sirius. I’m still upset too. That’s why we have each other.” Harry chuckled, and nodded, looking a little happier now. 

Later that evening, when Clara decided it was time to leave, Harry stopped her. “Clara…I need to tell you something.” He said seriously. “We saw Draco doing something shady at Borgin and Burkes. Hermione, Ron and me followed him and-”

“Harry…” Clara cut through. “What do you expect…? I’ve known him ever since he was born. And his parents. We all know now that his father is a Death eater, thought I knew before. Voldemort must have been outraged his plan didn’t work, so of course Draco would somehow get involved.” She said gently. “Please, Harry…don’t get involved…you have enough trouble as it is. But instead of being suspicious of him; look after him, OK?” 

“Look after him? I didn’t realise I was his babysitter.” Harry said irritably. Clara grinned cheekily. 

“Harry Potter, I have officially named you Draco Malfoys’ babysitter.” She joked. Harry looked unamused, but then smiled and chuckled. 

“You really know how to make a joke out of everything.” He said. Clara nodded.

“Of course I do~! Otherwise I wouldn’t be Clara de Rambures would I now~?” she chimed, before kissing Harry on the forehead. “Bye bye Harry baby~” she giggled in a teasing way, before Disapparating to her home. 

~

Beatrice giggled at Clara’s state, much to the annoyance of the brunette. “I think you look lovely.” She said sweetly.

“Oh ha. Ha. Ha. Hilarious.” Clara said sarcastically. She was sitting grumpily on the sofa, wearing her pyjamas and dressing gown in late afternoon, having stayed in bed the whole day. She looked particularly worn out, with a big bowl of fruit next to her, and a lot of letters from Ron about school. Her was all messed up, and in general, it looked like she had been dragged through the Forbidden Forest backwards. “Get to the point.”

“Alright, alright, I was only joking sunshine.” Beatrice teased, waving her hand in a jokey manner. “OK, seriously now, at work, everything’s messed up, literally. Everything is upside down, no one knows who’s a bad guy and a good guy anymore, and no one knows if the boss knows what he’s doing or not.”

“I don’t trust the guy.” Clara muttered angrily. “He’s weird…knows what to do too well…” Beatrice shrugged.

“We need people like that at the moment, otherwise we’re seriously screwed.” The ginger haired girl said. Clara nodded.

“I guess…I still don’t trust him anyway.” She shrugged too. 

“Anyway, enough depressing conversation, how’s the pregnancy going?” Beatrice asked. Clara gave her a deadpan look, her large bulge not fitting into the pyjamas. 

“Meh…7 months pregnant and suffering.” She said flatly.

“But you love it, right? It’s all worth it to look after a little child, no?” her friend said kindly, grinning. Clara smiled, and nodded.

“Yes…that’s true.” She agreed, taking a bite of an apple from the fruit bowl.

“Have you now decided on names and godparents yet?” Beatrice asked curiously, for Clara hadn’t been able to answer anybody’s questions about the related subjects. Clara chewed slowly and swallowed. 

“Names…nope. Godparents, yep.” She answered. The blue eyed woman perked up in attention.

“Oooh, really? Please do tell~” she said eagerly. 

“Nope.” The answer kind of struck Beatrice, and she pouted.

“Why not?” she asked. Clara grinned at her.

“Don’t worry~ I’ll tell you at the Weasleys next week. All of the Weasley kids except for Percy, Ginny and Ron will be there.” She winked.

~

“Come on Clara, tell us already! The suspense is too much!” Bill laughed, earning a giggle from Fleur. Arthur, Molly, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred and George were all in their sitting room, as well as Lupin, Tonks, Beatrice, Clara’s parents Milona and Charlie (also known as Charles), and some other members of the Order of the Phoenix. They had all been having a sort of meeting about what to do next, when, at the end, Clara had said she had chosen the godparents.

“OK, OK. So, after much thought, I have decided to name…Fred and George Weasley as my child’s godfathers.” Clara grinned. Fred and George jumped up and hugged their godmother.

“You have no idea how much that makes us happy!” they exclaimed in unison. Everybody laughed, even though Molly looked a little concerned. 

“Are you sure it’s ok for those two troublemakers to become godfathers?” she asked worriedly, earning offended looks from the twins, even though they were obviously joking.

“Do not fear! We are now fully responsible adults and finally know the difference between right and wrong!” they said dramatically, bowing. Bill, Charlie, Arthur, Milona and Charles laughed. Milona looked at her daughter, smiling softly. Even though Clara was in her thirties, and Milona and Charles in their fifties, Clara’s parents looked young for their age. Milona hugged her daughter gently. 

“I’m so proud of you, I hope you realise that.” She said quietly, while everybody else starting chatting and leaving. Charles smiled at them both, and nodded in agreement. Clara grinned.

“I know~ And I love you both.” She chimed happily, laughing as Fred and George did a dramatic performance around their mother on the subject of becoming godfathers. ‘I’ll need to write to Severus too.’ She thought fondly.


	17. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince part 2

Clara stared up at the bland white ceiling she knew oh too well. She groaned out of the sheer boredom of having nothing to do. She couldn’t move to her side, and she was allowed to sit up at all, under orders of her ever so understanding father. The air smelt of chemicals and sanitizer, and everything around her was white be it dirty or clean, it was all white. She could hear some far off crying, and the noises of people talking. Where was Clara? St Mungo’s of course, where else?

Eight months pregnant and she has already been doomed the white coloured bed sheets. She groaned again, wondering why in the name of Merlin she couldn’t stay at home to be in bed. Her blue coloured duvet and fluffy pillow, with the comforting mewling of her old car and the slightly hoarse voice of Brownie her owl to keep her company. Between that and hearing the patient next door coughing their lungs out, her bedroom was the best choice any day.

The brunette laid there motionlessly for several hours, her only entertainment was to lose herself in her own thoughts. This had been going on for a week already, and Clara wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to make it through the boredom for a whole month or so.

Just as she was about to enter the ‘ponder whether it would be a good idea to be angry at dad or not’ train of thoughts, her father walked in, looking somewhat relieved. Clara had been ready to snap angrily at her father, but when she saw Remus follow in with him, as well as George and Fred, she grinned instead.

“Took a while for you all to come and visit me. I was starting to think you’d forgotten me.” She teased, giggling. Remus smile tiredly, seemingly very tired. His hair was scruffier than usual, and his skin, which was pale anyway, was a measly grey. The twins were nothing to worry about. They were both the equivalence of rays of sunshine on a gloomy day. A nice change compared to the gloomy looking people that have been around lately.

“Sorry, we’ve all been quite busy.” Remus apologized, sitting in a chair next Clara’s bed. Fred looked very smug as he stood over Clara.

“H-”

“Don’t ask.” Clara interrupted him before he could ask his question. Fred closed his mouth, his smirk still showing.

“OK.” He said simply. The five of them stayed in silence for a little while. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, for crying out loud Fred!” Clara pouted, obviously annoyed. “If I were able to stand up, I’d kick you!”

“Nah, you wouldn’t, you love me too much~” Fred retorted smugly, gaining an eye roll from George. Clara huffed a bit, but she knew Fred was right. She could never hurt the tall ginger, nor would she want to. She looked at her father, glaring at him from the laid down position. He looked completely unfazed.

“I am not letting you walk around the place. And you know why.” Clara’s father said, making it final. It was rather plain that the father and daughter had had this conversation several times. George placed his hands on his hips, in a rather Molly-like way.

“Well, we don’t know why. Mind telling us?” he asked casually, not rudely though. Charles, Clara’s father, and Milona, Clara’s mother, got along perfectly well with the twins, and considered each other family. Charles sighed, running a hand through his black, curly hair.

“The reason is that Clara already almost lost the baby when you-know-who…well, did that. It’s risky having her moving around too much, as the child must therefore be fragile to a large amount of movement, and knowing Clara, she will become overexcited quickly.” He explained seriously. Charles didn’t want anything to happen to his daughter. He almost lost her once, when Voldemort had used the curse on her, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her when he’s away. So, really, the reason she was in hospital was to be sure she stayed safe.

The three visitors looked at Clara, expecting her to have a fit of rage. Instead, much to their shock, she crossed her arms over her chest, and glared calmly at the blank ceiling.

“There’s no need to be rude about it you know. I know myself perfectly fine, thanks very much. And I can be careful if I want to be.” She stated through gritted teeth. It annoyed her that her father was right, even if it was true that Charles was the person who knew her the most, excluding Milona. And Sirius. That thought saddened Clara almost instantly, and she covered her face with her hands. Remus understood without her needing to say anything why she was suddenly upset. He took her hands into his, and smiled reassuringly at Clara.

“It’s just for a month.” He said calmly. The fact that he was mentioning Sirius soothed Clara. She still had mild mood swings, and thinking of things that made her upset wasn’t especially welcomed.

“Yeah…just a month.” She whispered, smiling back to her friend.

~

Severus sat silently next to Clara, who was munching happily at a large cookie, present of Molly. Black eyes gazed from the woman’s happy expression, to the large bulge under the covers. Clara glanced at him from her delicious treat, and saw that he was rather out of place.

“Nuh nee fu fe fo ogord.” She said, mouth full of cookie. Severus raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the lack of manners of the green eyed brunette. Clara rolled her eyes, and swallowed her mouth full. “I said: No need to be so awkward.” She repeated, taking another bite. Severus leaned his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand.

“Well, excuse me for not being used to seeing you pregnant.” He retorted. Clara gazed in awe at Severus.

“Ah, so you can retort. I’ve learned something new today.” She teased cheekily, earning a sigh from the black haired man. He said no more, and neither did Clara. That was, until she finished her cookie. “Well, anyhow-” she patted his hand “-how’s everything? You seem a lot more serious than usual.”

“What are you talking about? This is my normal expression, and you know that.” Severus raised his eyebrows at Clara. The latter huffed.

“The lie of the century.” She stated. Severus said nothing in response. “Come on, Severus, what’s on your mind?” she urged. Severus frowned, and seemed to be having an inner combat whether or not to tell her. Just as he was about to respond, Beatrice entered the room. She grinned brightly at her old classmates.

“Oh hello there Severus~! Didn’t expect to see you here!” she chimed cheerfully. Severus gave a nod of recognition to the ginger. Clara pouted.

“Beatreeeeeeeece! Severus was about to say something! Can’t you come back in a minute?” Clara whined childishly. Beatrice put on a fake hurt expression.

“And after all the trouble I took to come and visit you!” she said dramatically. Clara rolled her eyes, grinning widely at her friend’s dramas. She looked at Severus, who simply shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing serious. Just work.” He said quietly, standing up and turning to leave. Clara frowned, and grabbed his sleeve. He stopped, and turned his head to look at her.

“Severus, am I your friend?” she asked worriedly. Severus’ eyes widened for a second. He nodded. Clara was relieved. But she frowned deeper. “Are you my friend, Severus?” Severus turned completely to her, and held her hand in both of his.

“I am. Don’t ever doubt that.” He said calmly to her, a small genuine smile on his features. Clara’s expression was one of great joy. She smiled widely to her friend. If she had known this would be the last time she would ever talk to him properly, she would of made him stay for so, so much longer. But how could she have known?

~

“Is she going to be alright?” George and Fred asked together, very much worried as they heard a groan of agony coming from Clara’s hospital room. Arthur patted both their shoulders.

“Don’t you worry. She’ll be fine. She’s gone through a lot more than this.” He reassured his sons. Molly pinched her husband’s ear. As he was trying to get her to let go of his ear, Molly said:

“If only you knew what you were talking about.” This caused a lot of confused looks to be turned her way. The ones present at the moment were Fred, George, Arthur, Remus, Tonks and Beatrice. Molly, being the only mother of the whole group, sighed. How could men understand? Tonks and Beatrice will find out for themselves if they ever end up having a child. No point explaining what Molly meant.

From the early hours of the morning to the late hours of night, Clara’s groans of pain could be heard, and it was only early the next morning that the healer came out of the room, looking satisfied. The healer was woman, who seemed to be of the serious type, but kind enough. She smiled to the group.

“All is well. She has given birth to a healthy boy. You can go in to see her in half an hour or so, when she is less tired.” The woman told the group. So the group waited. Fred and George fidgeting, looking at each other nervously, and at their parents. They couldn’t wait see their godson, since this would, technically, be their first time being responsible of somebody else’s child. OK, so it didn’t go very well with Ron, they’ll give anyone that, but they did pretty well with being responsible for Ginny when she was a baby. They could be responsible if they wanted to be, even if it wasn’t very often, and only for their work.

The seconds ticked past very slowly, too slowly for them.

When the healer came back, and entered the room, the twins jumped out, waiting expectantly. The healer came out again, and nodded to the small group. She staggered slightly when the twins rushed past her.

Clara looked tired, but she was smiling. Even with half an hour of rest, it had been 26 hours straight of no sleeping, so it was normal for her to be more than a little tired. She was on her back, lying on her side, facing a small plastic cot. The twins quickly ran to the brunette, soon followed by the others. Tonks and Beatrice immediately fussed over Clara, asking her how she felt, if all went well, while Molly, Remus, Arthur and the twins quietly peeked into the cot, looking down at a rosy cheeked baby, looking back up at them with big blue eyes.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, don’t be so worried.” Clara told the two girls, waving them out of her face. “Why don’t you welcome this little sweetie instead of fussing over me?” she proposed, looking fondly towards the cot. The two women glanced at the rosy cheeked baby, and back at Clara. But then realised how cute the baby seemed and looked back.

“Oh my gosh! He’s so adorable!” Beatrice cooed, squealing. Tonks grinned in agreement, but kept her distance as to not knock over the cot, as she has done many time with the damned troll leg umbrella thingy at Grimmauld Place. The baby was very cute indeed. With scruffy black hair and those adorable, curious blue eyes, it looked like a small angel. Tonks pointed this out, and Clara retorted that they wait till he’s old enough to run. They all laughed, until George pointed another thing out.

“How come his eyes are blue?” he asked, noting that neither Sirius’ eyes nor Clara’s eyes were blue. Molly explained that the baby’s eyes will turn to their actual colour when it is a little older, as with all babies. Clara smiled happily as Molly explained the philosophy of babies to George and Fred, drifting off to sleep.

~

It had been a couple of weeks after Clara had given birth to Sirius jr, and she was still on Mother’s leave, having stayed at her job as long as her father would allow her. She happily held her black haired son in her arms. His eyes were like his father’s. It didn’t matter to Clara if people said he looked like her, the brown haired girl her little child looked exactly like his father.

She was on her sofa in her home’s living room, just watching her child sleep peacefully. A knock on the front door was heard. Clara didn’t bother to get up, letting Zwinky get it.

“Young mistress, you have two visitors. Fred and George Weasley. Should I let them in?” the house elf asked from the entrance.

“Yes please, Zwinky.” Clara called back. When they two gingers entered the room, their godmother grinned at them, standing up to greet them. After exchanging careful hugs, as to not wake Sirius jr, Zwinky came back with tea and snacks. “So, any reason you came over, or did you just want to hear me brag about my baby?”

“Well, that too.” George nodded with a cheeky smile.

“We also wanted to see how out Godson was doing~” Fred followed, sipping at his tea. Clara gave a soft laughed. A small whine from the bundle in her arms announced the waking of the little baby. “Good afternoon, little master.” She cooed at her baby. The round faced child blinked at her and closed his hand, opening it again. Clara gave him her finger to hold. Sirius jr held a tight grip on it. The twins could see that Clara was squealing, as she kissed her baby on the head lovingly. “Do you want to hold him?” she proposed to the two young adults. Both looked taken aback.

“You sure…?” Fred asked nervously. Clara raised her eyebrows in this out of character response. “It’s just…like, um…”

“Have you never held a baby before or something?” Clara asked, a little sceptically.

“Course we have! But that was Ron and Ginny, and this…well…” George retorted. Clara rolled her eyes and placed her baby gently in Fred’s arms. The older twin looked a little nervous. He had held a baby before, but that were his siblings. This was his Godson, and he would be a sort of pseudo parent to it, and it felt…weird, in a good way. The baby’s eyes had darkened from a light blue to black over the last few weeks, but it wasn’t any less cute. The little baby stared up at the unfamiliar face. Although he stayed quiet, it was obvious he was getting used to the change of face, since the only person he had ever been held by was his mother and his grandparents, once Zwinky. This unfamiliar hair and eyes were something to get used to. But the baby felt safe in these arms. They were strong and supportive. Arms of a father, although that was still unknown to the child. Fred let a small endeared smile spread on his face.

“He’s really cute…” He murmured. Clara grinned proudly in response.

“Isn’t he just~? I’m sure he’ll be a troublemaker like his father and Godfathers!” she said eagerly, a little eagerly for a mother talking about her son’s future probably, but anybody could have guessed that she was looking forward to it. Fred looked to George, the latter seemingly fidgeting. The older brother nudge his younger brother in the ribs, moving the baby into his arms. George was a little less confident about it, but not as nervous. He was almost expecting Sirius jr to start crying, but the quiet child didn’t even whine in displeasure. The face was identical. But it held a different expression, so it was a little different. 

“He’s really calm. And quiet. Totally different from what Ron used to be.” George pointed out, adding a little joke. Clara grinned.

“What was he like when he was a baby? And Ginny?” She asked eagerly. The twins looked at each other a little sheepishly.

“Well, we weren’t exactly careful with Ron when he was a baby…or a toddler…or now…” Fred said thoughtfully.

“But we were exemplary big brothers for Ginny!” George assured his godmother when they gained an unimpressed look from her.

“You better be careful with my kid, otherwise I’ll make Lucius his godfather instead.” She scorned in an almost threatening voice.

~

Hogwarts was a mess. There were spells being sent all over the place. Clara couldn’t even tell who was who anymore everything was such a blur.

She had received an urgent message from Molly to quickly come to Hogwarts for there was an emergency. Sirius Jr had been left at home in the care of Zwinky while Clara and her mother went to Hogwarts, which was already a battlefield.

Clara ran through the halls of her old school, looking for Ron or Harry or Hermione or any of the others, but she only saw people fighting and sending spells at each other. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she gathered as much that they were Death Eaters.

As she turned a corner and stopped suddenly and took a step back. She had seen Remus in his werewolf form many times, and had been attacked by him once, but she had never been scared of him. But at this very moment, the sight of this dirty evil looking thing she couldn’t even move a muscle, not until it pounced on her.

“Accio rock!” She chanted in a high pitched hurried voice. She had noticed how there were lots of rubble that had been pieces of walls or columns before spells smashed against them. She used this to her advantage to summon a rock which collided with a strong force against the werewolf’s head. Not wanting to stay any longer around it, she continued running.

Only when she finally found Molly that she stopped running. She had fired a few spells here and there to throw off some werewolves or Death Eaters out of her way, which were mostly successful, for she hadn’t wanted to waste much time.

After that, the Death Eaters one by one started to run away and leave the school grounds. Clara was confused, but didn’t want to chase after them. She wanted to find the kids. But something else took her attention. At the bottom of a certain well known tower, laid the body of a dear old friend.

The brunette had been prepared for this. She and Dumbledore both knew it would have happened sooner or later. But the impact was strong even though she had been preparing herself for it. She had to hold on to Molly for support, her face pale.

As Harry arrived, she had to stop herself to not collapse in tears.

She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t watch this. She physically wouldn’t be able to contain herself. Slowly slipping away from the crowd, Clara walked back into the school.

Two things popped up into her head at this point.

Severus.

Draco.

She hadn’t seen them. Where were they?

Remus came to look for her, and they went to the school infirmary, where they others had gathered at. She saw Bill.

“Oh no, Bill-?!” she started, but seeing how Fleur and Molly where holding each other, and seeing how Bill’s chest was still raising and lowering, she let out a shuddered breath. Bill’s bloodied face left Clara with questions, but as long as he was alive…Harry sat silently there. She wanted to ask him about Severus and Draco. She really did. But something was wrong about asking about them.

The twins were avoiding eye contact, and it was only Remus who seemed confident enough to even be close to her. What…on earth? She took a small breath, once again preparing herself for the worst. “Harry…what happened…?” she asked. Harry’s green eyes lifted up to her. They had an angry fire in them. It almost frightened her.

“Don’t act like you care about wat happened to Professor Dumbledore or me.” He hissed out. Clara looked confused. Of course she cared. She had care for Professor Dumbledore very deeply. He had been one of those people who always seemed to know what she was thinking, except that one time that got her stuck in Azkaban, and who was always there to comfort you. “You only care about Snape and stupid Draco when it comes to Hogwarts.” That was uncalled for.

“Harry, what’s with you? Of course I care about Severus and Draco, but I care about everybody else too!” She retorted, getting stressed out at the comment. It sounded like a reproach, and she didn’t liked being reproached about things that weren’t true. She didn’t only care about those two.

“Sure you do!” Harry snapped back sarcastically. Ron and Hermione winced. “What if I told you that it was Snape that killed Professor Dumbledore, or that it was because of Draco that the Death Eaters got in?!”

Clara’s body went limp. So much so, that she collapsed to her knees with a blank expression, looking at Harry with blank eyes. Again…Again, Severus…and now…Draco…She clenched her jaw angrily. This was the only time she had ever felt angry to Harry.

“It’s because of them that Professor Dumbledore died! He was weak and he had no chance! He trusted Snape, and he got killed by him!”

“Shut up!” Clara raised her voice. Harry had stood up at this point, his eyes blazing with anger and pent up emotions. “You don’t know Severus like I do! You-!”

“It doesn’t matter if I know him or not! He’s a killer and that’s enough for me to hate him! The Malfoys are just the same! Cowards!”

Slap.

Harry’s shocked face as clear. His head was slightly tilted to his right, and his cheek was red from the contact of Clara’s hand. She’d snapped. Anger boiled in her veins and through her body.

“You be quiet, you stupid brat. Don’t start getting all high and mighty on me.” She threatened in a low, chilling voice. Nobody dared to stop her. Remus knew better than to stop a snapped Clara. He had only seen her actually, properly angry once, and that hadn’t been a nice experience. “Don’t talk about Severus or Lucius like you know everything. Don’t say you know who Narcissa is until you know what she went through. Don’t you dare insult the boy I sacrificed every for. You don’t know them, and you never will. So just shut up. Shout at me for being useless and not coming sooner, for not noticing Draco’s odd behaviour, for not talking to Severus more. But ever dare insult any of those people ever again, and I swear, I will personally present you as an offering to Voldemort. Don’t think I won’t do it.” Her voice was so dark and serious that nobody dared to question her. Nobody even flinched at the naming of the Dark Lord. Harry just stared at the ground in a shocked state.

Nobody moved until Remus pulled Clara from Harry and gently hugged her. That simple gesture made Clara lose all control of her emotions, and she gripped onto her old classmate. There was only him, Beatrice and Severus left from her schooldays now. She let out great shuddering sobs.

She was going to regret her words to Harry later. She was going to cry for Dumbledore’s funeral. She was going to fight against close friends.

It was at this point that she finally realised how this time, this second time, she had something to lose in this war. At home, safe from all of this, there was a little vulnerable fatherless baby who had no way of self-defence, whose whole life depended on his mother’s. Clara had something to lose in this war if she wasn’t careful. And being careful had never been one of Clara’s strong points.


	18. Harry Potter and the Hocruxes part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO SO SO SO sorry for taking FOREVER to write this up, but it's been a hectic few months for me...I'm really sorry!  
> -Mod Grimmi

Clara hugged Tonks tightly, both of the girls grinning widely.

 

“I’m so happy, Tonks!” the brunette exclaimed to her friend. “You finally convinced him.” Lupin was next to them, looking embarrassed. “You two are a wonderful couple, so I’m really happy.” Tonks pulled away.

 

“We’re sorry we couldn’t invite you to the wedding, we had to keep it at the minimum of witnesses.” Lupin apologised. Clara shook her head. It didn’t matter. She was just so happy that they had finally gotten married. They needed each other.

 

They all did.

 

~

 

Molly was fidgeting worriedly. Ginny was silent and staring out of the window, her face pale. Clara busied herself with entertaining Sirius Jr. She kissed his head, his dark brown hair soft under the touch. She loved her child so much, and it eased her anxious mind. The three witches waited with worry for the others to arrive, collecting Harry from his house; or his uncles and aunt’s house or whatever.

 

A noise outside the house made all three of them jump. Molly and Ginny ran to the door, while Clara stayed in the kitchen, rocking Sirius Jr to sleep. She heard voices inside the house but only when Molly hurriedly called for Clara did she come out the kitchen. She was trying to be as calm and collected as she could, but the sight of a semi-conscious George with the side of his head damp with his own blood made Clara’s gut scream.

 

“Fred, please hold Sirius for me.” Fred’s pale expression glanced to Clara with wide eyes. He was so worried for his twin. “Fred. Please.” She extended her arms to give him Sirius and Fred took him in his arms with trembling hands. The weight of the small warm body he was holding eased his worried heart.

 

Clara and Molly tended to George. His ear was clean off and they couldn’t grow it back because it was a curse that hit him. But he was going to live and that’s all that mattered to Clara. That George lived, no matter how mutilated. She sighed, a small smile on her lips.

 

“Ok. He’ll be ok.” She smiled to the others. They had almost all arrived. Alive and as unhurt as possible. Harry looked solemn, upset even. She sent an inquiring look to Ginny, who mouthed the word ‘Hedwig’. Oh.

 

Clara stood up and took her child back from Fred. The latter ran to his brother’s side.

 

“How’re you feeling, Georgie?” He asked, watching his brother’s peaceful expression.

 

“Saint like.”

 

“What?”

 

“Because I’m holy.” Huh? “Get it? HOLEy?” George pointed to the bandage wrapped around his head. Clara stared, not getting it at all. Fred gave his brother an exasperated smile.

 

“Out of all the jokes you could’ve come up with, you went with holy?” he pointed out, his voice hinting relieved laughter. George grinned weakly. Clara then got the joke and let out a snicker before giggling.

 

“You two really come up with the weirdest of jokes, you know that?” she commented happily. She admired how George could make a joke out of his horrible situation. That was one of the reasons why she loved the twins so much.

 

The others arrived soon after that. All of them. Except one.

 

“Mad-Eye didn’t make it.”

 

Another friend lost.

 

~

 

Even during this horrible time weddings were celebrated happily. Bill, even with his scarred face, was joyful to marry Fleur and vice versa. It was a wonderful wedding. People were smiling, laughing and having the last part of enjoyment they would get in a while. It was going so well too. Sirius Jr was sleeping inside the Weasleys’ house safe from what ended the wedding all too suddenly.

 

Death Eaters tore down the wedding, sending curses and spells towards everybody. Most of the guests ran away while others fought back. Clara was one of those people. So were the twins. They were well into the fight when Clara heard a spell she knew all too well.

 

“Crucio!” The red flash was directed to Fred.

 

No time to think.

 

Just move.

 

Push him out of the way.

 

Take the hit.

 

Fred was on the ground, watching Clara squirm in pain, clawing at her robes. The caster of the spell stopped and Clara almost lost consciousness. The older of the Weasley twins was quick to his feet once more, but Clara was already gone; taken by one of the Death Eaters. Again.

 

It all happened too quickly.

 

~

 

Clara woke up, eyes groggy. She blinked the darkness away but pain settled down instead. She groaned and twisted her body realising she was tied up and that her wand wasn’t on her anymore. Typical. Take aware her wand and make her vulnerable. Trying to sit she saw that she was in some sort of cellar or prison. Either way she wanted out, like pronto.

 

She struggled with her restraints, rope apparently, but to no avail. The crucio spell had left a lot of aftermath pain, probably because she had already lived through the spell before. The pain made her movements sluggish and she slumped against the floor. Dammit.

 

A door opened and bright light poured into the room. Clara squinted and saw two figures, which became clear enough to make out that they were Death eaters. They opened the jail door and stepped in.

 

“Is she awake?” One of the men asked.

 

“I believe so, seeing how she’s glaring at us like that.” The other said. Clara glared up, angry at being kidnapped, again, and taken away from her baby whom she knew was safe and probably in the good hands of the Weasley twins. The two men snorted and pulled her up by her arms. She held back a wince but didn’t stop glaring as they half pulled half dragged her to some unknown destination.

 

Realisation soon hit her when the surroundings became familiar to her. She was in Malfoy Manor. This couldn’t be a good sign, not in the situation they were in at the moment. Upon the opening of two huge doors leading to the Malfoy’s ridiculously huge dining room, she knew she was right.

 

Death Eaters, which she knew and didn’t, were sitting at the table, looking at her mockingly. She didn’t care. She saw Lucius, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Draco. Poor scared Draco who was keeping his cool best he could like his parents. And of course, there was Voldemort in all his noseless glory.

 

Clara was thrown to the floor, and with her arms tied behind her back, she couldn’t stop her head smashing against the cold ground.

 

“Clara kidnapped and restrained once more.” Voldemort started. “How absolutely pathetic.” All laughed, except for the Malfoys and it was clear to Clara that Bellatrix’s laugh was somewhat strained, but still genuine. Weird. Like her to be honest. Clara kept her mouth shut. “I heard you and Sirius married in private; seems that the mongrel and his mate have copied you.” Anger flared through Clara at these words, but she kept her eyes cast to the floor and the lips shut tightly. “But I also heard you bore a child. A pureblood son with the name of Sirius junior.” She froze and Voldemort saw that he had gotten her attention and was now holding her strings. If he played this out carefully, he could manipulate her. “I’m sure you’re aware that pureblood sons are getting rarer and rarer by the generation with all these half-bloods and muggle-borns mixing in. Therefore your son is very precious to all of us. I will ask you directly; where is he?” Clara glanced up at the cruel face.

 

“Why should I tell you?” Her angered answer echoed through the room. Exactly what he expected from her.

 

“If you accept my offer, you and your son will be protected from all of our attacks and you will be given huge benefits so that your son be brought up with the correct education.” That’s what he was getting at. She glared on and Voldemort continued. “Work for us.”

 

“Fuck no.” As expected.

 

“Do you honestly wish to put your son to danger?” Of course she didn’t, everybody in the room knew that. Especially the Malfoys and Bellatrix. “Think about it, Clara. You could be safe from it all, live in peace with your child and help bring back the wizarding world to what it was before. To what it should be. Under the rule of the pure bloods.” Clara snorted.

 

“I don’t care about pure bloods or whatever. You’re going to have to try harder than that.” She was being difficult, Voldemort observed. He knew fully well that she didn’t care of status or any of these sorts of things, but that didn’t stop him from trying all them same.

 

“Maybe, but if we win and you helped us, you will be able to live with your child, without fearing of him or you, or your parents being killed. However, if we win and you didn’t help us, you and your parents will no longer be part of this world and your child will be raised as a Death Eater.” That really hit home. Clara looked up in frustration and anguish at the thought of her son being manipulated into such a person as a Death Eater. She didn’t want that. Nor did she want her parents to be killed; but neither did she want to work for him. Voldemort had caught her by the neck and she was trapped.

 

“Heh…heheh…hahahahaha…” Or so he thought. Staring into his eyes, Clara’s laughter shocked all of the Death Eaters present. “Hahahahaha…hah…” All waited for what she had to say. “No way in hell am I ever willingly joining your hate club. Sorry but no thanks, not interested.” Voldemort scowled. A huge python slid across the floor towards Clara menacingly. “I’m not scared of you nor of your cute pet. Don’t forget that I was in Slytherin; your own house.” The snake stopped and looked at Voldemort for orders. When its master gave none, Clara continued. “Kill me if you want. Kill my parents if you want, but that’ll just be another loss of a pure blood family. What good would that be to you if I’m dead?” Anger radiated from the non-human looking wizard but that didn’t stop the brunette. “My son’s not even a year old but he’s already got an attitude; even if you took him now, he’d never listen to you or follow you. One point to me, zero to you.” As the whole room was silent, all looked at Voldemort, tension in all present except for Clara. 

 

“You have not changed at all, Clara, that much is obvious.” Voldemort stated plainly, his voice sounding calm, which he clearly wasn’t because of the wand pointed at her. A wordless spell shot towards Clara but it didn’t kill her or wound her, but an invisible force wrapped itself around her throat like two hands strangling her. It pulled her off the ground and she choked. “Courageous like a Gryffindor, quick-thinking like a Ravenclaw, fiercely loyal like a Hufflepuff and determined like a Slytherin.” Clara choked, rasped noises scratching at her throat. “Yet incredibly rude and short tempered.” He dropped her and she coughed, getting her breath back. “Your parents must be quite the odd pair if you are their child.” Her vision was blurred and the only thing she could focus on right now was the floor tiles. “Draco, what should we do with your godmother?” said boy tensed at being talked to. He glanced to the almost unconscious Clara before looking back at Voldemort.

 

“…We should keep her alive.” His voice was ever so slightly trembling. “She could have valuable information we could get from her.” At that moment, his parents were incredibly proud of him for his quick thinking. Voldemort kept his gaze on the teenager for a short while before motioning to the two Death Eaters from before. The two Death Eaters grabbed her by the shoulders and guided her out of the room.

 

~

 

She remembered being thrown back into the cell, but soon after being picked up gently and placed on a bed.

 

When she woke up, she was in an unfamiliar room but that looked like it was still inside Malfoy Manor. Looking around, she noticed Draco was sitting in a chair next to the bed. He looked so tired and so frightened. Clara reached out to him and gently stroked his face. Poor child, he didn’t deserve to be in such a horrific situation. Draco woke up slowly and looked at Clara. He sat up properly, pushing his slightly messy hair back.

 

“Draco, my poor boy.” Clara murmured, smiling sadly at him. The blonde boy looked down at her, tears in his eyes. With some pain she sat up and quickly wrapped her arms around her godson. He trembled against her as tears dripped from his eyes.

 

~

 

Pettigrew often came to visit Clara. He told her of what was happening in the Manor, how Olliver and Luna were in the dungeons, how the Malfoys were going, he talked a lot about Snape as well. Of course she was upset with him, but she couldn’t hate him. He had been her friend when they had both been in Hogwarts together.

 

Draco visited and so did Narcissa. Only Lucius didn’t visit.

 

She would have ran away a long time ago by now, but the room was surrounded by some sort of barrier which meant she couldn’t leave the room without permission. Pettigrew or Draco brought her meals everyday and there was a bathroom connecting to the room, so she had everything she needed. But she missed her son so very much and wished she could hold him in her arms.

 

There was no sense of time for her, except for the clock on the wall, but hours were meaningless to her now. It was only when one day she heard commotions downstairs that she felt any motivation or strength to actually look for an escape. She had done before, but had stopped after realising the barrier was a powerful one. Now, she stepped carefully around the room, looking for anything that might help her escape. She patted the walls, checked every crevice and corner of the room and its furniture for anything, absolutely anything.

 

When she heard screams coming from downstairs, she panicked. She would need a spell or something of the sort but she wasn’t powerful enough without a wand. That’s when she heard a snapping sound and spun round.

 

“Dobby has come to rescue you!” A small elf spoke up at her. She didn’t know who he was. “Harry Potter is here and asked me to come get you!” How Harry had gotten into Malfoy Manor and how he knew she was here was completely unknown to her, but she wasn’t going to worry about that at the moment.

 

“Thank you so much Dobby, please take me to them.” The elf held her hand as he snapped his fingers. They appeared in the Malfoy Manor Living room. A little disorientated, Clara could just make out Harry, Ron and Hermione facing off against Bellatrix. Everything else was a blur.

 

One second she was in Malfoy Manor, the next she was on a beach with a mouthful of sand. She coughed violently, before she saw Ron rush to her.

 

“Oh my god, Clara, are you ok? They didn’t hurt you did they?” He blabbered, and when she hurriedly shook her head, she clung onto Ron’s shoulders, not quite sure whether she was dreaming or not. It happened all too fast, and she was sure she was about to wake up any time soon. But considering the smell of the sea was strong and she could feel the wind whipping sand into her face along with her hair. She was awake. But then she heard a distressed cry.

 

“Dobby? Dobby!”


End file.
